Changing the way footwear is made is a pretty lofty endeavor. For decades, footwear, specifically flip flop sandals have been made the same way. A design is created and from there, molds are made of the design for various sizes of the shoe. Those molds are usually injected with a rubber-based material in a foreign factory. A process that inherently dictates that many items must be produced in order to amortize the cost of the mold, creating excessive inventory and a lack of innovation. This process, with its limitations and highly concentrated production overseas, has been what sandal production has looked like. Definitely not custom and certainly not environmentally friendly.So, what happens when you want to make sandals locally at a 3D facility (not a footwear factory), with lattice-based structures and customer selected variations? Well, that is what I set out to do at Impact Footwear in 2019 attempting something that had not been accomplished before. I knew several key elements were going to be part of the design requirements for this shoe. The first being lattice-based structures. I had seen several performance shoes come out that used a standard lattice-based midsole. It was a good first step in using lattice structures and 3D in footwear, but I felt it missed the target on the potential of what custom 3D printed footwear could bring. Having the ability to customize a lattice structure based on mechanical testing of compression would be a great opportunity to harness this capability. Allowing the customer to select their level of compression and customizing a shoe would be a game-changer in the way footwear is made.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1608182954762-FullShoe_Blue_5-1-768x432.jpg">Impact F1 Flip Flop&nbsp;I set out to build an end-to-end mechanism to allow for a fully customized 3D printed sandal. I knew that for this to scale, it would need to be fully automated with no human intervention in the creation of the STL files. An end-to-end 3D experience where the customer would design their own shoe and minutes later that come to life in the form of a printed file. I needed a software partner that could help in both the design of the shoe, the lattice structures of the shoe, the automation needed to do this without human intervention, and the ability to output the necessary meshes customized to a set of individually defined requirements. That solution was nTopology.The concept was built on the principle that you could transform a non-customized set of parts and apply the customizations using the power of nTop Platform. It starts with identifying the variables needed to do this and a mechanism to capture these data points. This is done via a 3D Web Customization tool that gives the individual the power to custom design their shoe. When you calculate the total number of variables, you end up with millions of possible configurations. This level of customization has been extremely difficult to accomplish and would not be possible in traditional footwear manufacturing of rubber sandals.nTop Platform accomplishes this. &nbsp;Not only can it be done, but it can also do all of these customizations in a single notebook file providing a high level of future flexibility as modifications come about. Applying textures, selecting lattice structures and applying them to parts, adjusting variable based sizing, labeling, combining all parts to Boolean as one mesh, and outputting the necessary file for print were all capabilities needed and provided by nTop Platform. This processed through an integration layer that did not require human intervention and that could scale through a multi-threaded approach and was exactly what was needed to bring about the ability to transform footwear.I don’t think the creators of the software believed they were building a solution for custom footwear (I was called the “crazy flip flop guy”), but that is exactly what they had invented. It makes sense as they were building a solution that could work for production capabilities and not just for creating a prototype to test. This is what much of the 3D world had been utilized for, one-off prototypes that can speed up the ability to manufacture using traditional methods. The power of 3D printing lies in customization and the automation that supports the generation of custom-based products. When software, design, automation, and 3D manufacturing are brought together, it allows for the unthinkable in the past to become a reality. What lies ahead is a great possibility and opportunity to change what we expect of the products we purchase and the level of detail that goes into them. The future of creating for need instead of for mass inventory and sell off will bring about positive change in the way we consume products and our expectations for what we purchase. We are in the early stages of this shifted mindset and I am excited to help lead the way in this transformation.<hr>This article was first published on the&nbsp;<a href="https://ntopology.com/blog/2020/04/06/impact-resistant-bio-structures/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">nTopology blog</a>.

Creating an automated design workflow for custom flip flops opens the doors for sustainability and customization in footwear.

Custom Latticed-Based Flip Flops for Consumers

I recently had the pleasure of being an invited speaker at the Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation <a href="https://www.achper.org.au/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">(ACHPER)</a> conference. Here I gave a presentation on wearable technology in physical education, during which I also provided an engaging demonstration of the <a href="https://www.xsens.com/xsens-dot" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Xsens DOT</a> and how it can be integrated into their respective teaching curriculums. A strong focus of the conference was for students to be able to utilize digital technologies towards achieving personal and educational goals, as well as apply this knowledge in research and classroom practice. Further, to emphasize the enhancement of 21st century skills, the development of technological literacy, and the creation of technology tools for creative purposes and solving problems as they emerge. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjA2OTIwNTQ0ODgyLUphc29uLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTUwLCJmaXQiOiJjb3ZlciJ9fX0=">Dr Jason Konrath Recent times have shown an enormous uptake in the use and application of wearable technologies, we see it from wristwatches to wearable devices. In particular, wearable motion trackers are taking up much of the spotlight. Measuring human movement allows us to build solutions in applications spanning medical, sport and ergonomics to name a few. Already widely used in film productions and gaming to bring your favourite animated character or athlete to life, or professional athletes using motion sensors to enhance their performance. <a href="https://www.xsens.com/wearable-technology-in-education" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Wearable technology applications</a> are only limited by the extent of our imagination.&nbsp;With this in mind, it was our intention to inspire a new generation of students to create the jobs of tomorrow, that no-one knows about today. To this end, we set about creating tools that would allow them to work directly with these technologies and give them a real life feel for a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) career. Moreover, the ability to work hands on with the technology can improve understanding. If students hear something, they forget it. If they see it, they remember it. If they do it, they understand it. We believe motion trackers offer a unique experience to learn lessons across a range of topics, including physical education, mathematics and the sciences.&nbsp;Written in accordance with the syllabus of the Australian Tertiary Admission Ranking outcomes, we created support material to allow both researchers and educators to integrate the <a href="https://www.xsens.com/xsens-dot" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Xsens DOT</a> into their educational programs. Part of this support material includes a theoretical framework where we cover the various theoretical aspects of Biomechanics and its associated fields. Biomechanics is a field that integrates components of mechanics with biology and requires an interdisciplinary approach. This makes it an excellent teaching topic, as it involves lessons in human biology to encompass functional anatomy and physiology, as well as lesson in physics and mathematics, with human movement being the application of the taught principles.In addition to gaining an understanding of these theoretical concepts, we have created practical lessons for students to follow, which enables them to work directly with the technology to enhance their understanding. From the inner workings of each sensor component, to creating linked moving segment models, to creating anatomical models, as well as how to apply the data to a specific user case. Finally, field-based assignments can be performed to enhance student’s ability to collect, analyse and report data, with assessment criteria provided. Collectively, this allows a robust educational framework to provide students with a real-life feel for a career in STEM. The curriculum can simply be followed from start to finish, or relevant pieces of the support material can be used and integrated into your specific STEM discipline.&nbsp;Xsens DOT educational curriculum&nbsp;So, if you were looking for ways to make the learning process interesting, fun and application-oriented in STEM education. Consider adding the <a href="https://www.xsens.com/xsens-dot" rel="noopener" target="_blank">&nbsp;Xsens DOT</a> to your curriculum. Importantly, you will give your students the opportunity to enhance their 21st century skills. <a href="https://www.xsens.com/wearable-technology-in-education" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">For more information, visit XsensDOT wearable technology in education.</a>

Written by Dr Jason Konrath

Wearable Technology And The Enhancement Of 21st Century Skills

<h1>What are logic gates?</h1>Logic semiconductors process digital data to control the operation of electronic systems. Digital circuits are generally built from small microelectronic circuits, also known as the logic gates. Digital logic gates can have more than one input, but generally, only have one digital output. The Digital Logic Gate is the building block from which all digital electronic circuits and microprocessor-based systems are assembled from. They are often packaged together in integrated circuits (IC). &nbsp;A discrete logic chip is an integrated circuit that performs a single function such as ANDing or XORing two inputs.<a href="https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/discrete-logic" target="_blank">Discrete logic</a> is a term that refers to logic circuits that are made almost entirely of discrete logic chips such as AND and ORs (or their complements NAND and NORs). &nbsp;While it can be said that any digital system is made of basic logic gates, this term is reserved for systems that are primarily made of individual discrete components such as resistors, capacitors, discrete logic chips, and single-functionality chips.Even though logic has been around since the days when engineers still used slide rules - it continues to be an essential part of embedded designs as well as being useful in new applications for technology such as tablets, and high-end audio equipment.In accordance with this increasing relevance, semiconductor manufacturer Nexperia has just released the <a href="https://efficiencywins.nexperia.com/efficient-products/logic-product-features-and-application-insights-handbook.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Logic Application Handbook</a> with the goal to share their internal expertise and optimize their customer’s electronic designs. The handbook is a collection of technical and application insights “from Engineer to Engineer” as part of the larger project to build the Technical Nexperia Encyclopedia.<h2>Why Logic is still relevant</h2>Devices must be smaller, more power-efficient, and more portable devices than ever before. Achieving this means managing tight layouts, and dealing with looped traces, which can generate cross-talk and create signal integrity issues. Meeting the miniaturization demand also means the use of multi-layer boards, implementing real-time responses to real-world events, and supporting multitasking operations.In many cases, the right logic device makes these things easier to manage and helps optimize operation. Logic excels at delivering minor modifications and fine-tuning performance in later design stages, but it isn’t limited to just this task. Current logic devices let developers add features and improve functionality, so they can meet their design requirements from the beginning - well before any need for last-minute revisions.<h1>Specific applications</h1>Logic is a foundational technology and has broad and essentially endless applications, but it also has specific uses, particularly in relevant new and emerging products. In systems that use application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), logic gates can be used to provide control or “glue” functions. Modern logic families include features, such as overvoltage tolerance, that enable them to be used as glue logic between <a href="https://efficiencywins.nexperia.com/innovation/Mini-Logic-miniaturizing-logically-with-MicroPak-and-PicoGate-packages.html" target="_blank">ASICs</a> that use different supply voltages. In some cases, this can extend the lifetime of legacy ASICs.Logic is also useful in systems that use a microcontroller (MCU), here logic products are used for low-cost I/O expansion. Shift registers are used for digital I/O expansion, and analog switches are used to multiplex analog sensor inputs. The combination of the two enables the selection of lower-pin count MCUs with fewer analog-to-digital converters. When used this way, standard logic enables true cost optimization of an application.<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/If_sZJvhViI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" style="width: 769px; height: 389px;"></iframe> <h2>Logic for smaller portable devices</h2>Battery life, efficiency, and cost continue to be a significant issue in portable devices. In tablets and laptops, logic can be used for battery charging and discharging blocks, and to provide standby mode, power-down, and start-up control sequences. In docking stations and systems that support multiple displays, logic provides the bus switches, resets, and audio blocks that reduce the impact of noisy signals, and can be used to buffer the clock and data signals.In other mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, and cameras, logic provides multiplexing, buffering, and level-translation functions for the baseband, RF interfaces, memory, and other peripherals. Battery-powered mobile applications demand low energy consumption for operation. Si-gate CMOS (Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor) devices use advanced process and packaging technology to create extremely small functions that consume very little power.For the trend of portable audio equipment such as external speakers and other high-end audio equipment, logic buffers are used to buffer the clock, sync, and data signals sent to the audio interface and docking station.<h2>Logic assists 5G</h2>In the <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/towards.5g.mobility.the.role.of.efficient.discrete.semiconductors" target="_blank">push for 5G&nbsp;</a>and beyond, logic will play a role in interfacing baseband and RF or memory and by supplying various low-power control and level translation solutions. It can also have a hand in accelerating the time-to-market of the next generation of wireless devices and offer assistance in the low power segment and for applications where battery life is key.<h2>Meeting automotive standards</h2>Vehicles are becoming increasingly <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/putting.highperformance.computing.into.cars.automotive.discrete.semiconductors.for.autonomous.driving" target="_blank">electrified</a> and will continue to do so as autonomous driving further develops. Logic devices can play a role in pushing innovation in this area, through interfacing components in cutting-edge systems such as &nbsp;Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) and diagnostic applications. The harsh <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/next-generation-mosfet-technology-meets-demand-for-strong-thermal-performance-in-automotive-applications" target="_blank">temperature conditions</a> and the high switching speed <a href="https://www.nexperia.com/products/analog-logic-ics/automotive-logic/#/p=1,s=0,f=,c=,rpp=,fs=0,sc=,so=,es=" target="_blank">requirements of automotive</a><a href="https://www.nexperia.com/products/analog-logic-ics/automotive-logic/#/p=1,s=0,f=,c=,rpp=,fs=0,sc=,so=,es=" target="_blank">&nbsp;</a>require robust semiconductor solutions. To ensure the reliability of automotive electronics, the Automotive Electronics Council introduced its AEC-Q100 standard. Automotive logic devices must meet or exceed this standard.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1604337646494-electric+car+nexperia+logic.jpg" style="width: 788px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><h1>The Nexperia Logic Application Handbook</h1>The <a href="https://efficiencywins.nexperia.com/efficient-products/logic-product-features-and-application-insights-handbook.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Nexperia Logic Application Handbook</a> provides a comprehensive view of the Logic components currently available. It is a useful tool to guide designers through the basics of logic as well as provide application insights. The Handbook is developed by Nexperia’s internal engineering experts for an engineering audience.The Handbook has been designed as both an educational tool and a reference guide with each chapter of the book addressing a specific aspect of designing with logic devices and the systems they are used in. The explanation of datasheet items is addressed and the associated properties of logic process families. Further system integration items like Simulation of PCB design are covered in an extra chapter to enable users to successfully integrate Nexperia’s logic devices into their embedded systems and verify the system before production.<h2>Technical Seminars</h2>In addition to the Logic handbook, Nexperia has also created a seminar series on the topic. The first seminar covers applications and innovations in logic devices for the automotive and industrial markets. It focuses on Q100 reliability certification, preferred package types for high-reliability applications, analog switch design including current injection and thermal resistance measurements. The second seminar covers Logic device selection from the wide variety of processes and packages available as well as roadmaps and new product introductions. Both <a href="https://www.nexperia.com/support/on-demand-seminars.html" target="_blank">Logic seminars can be viewed here.&nbsp;</a>Design guides provide the best way to get a full survey of a technology, its applications, and innovations. As part of Nexperia’s knowledge encyclopedia, they have also produced a <a href="https://efficiencywins.nexperia.com/efficient-products/the-power-mosfet-design-engineers-guide.html" target="_blank">MOSFETs guidebook</a> and an <a href="https://efficiencywins.nexperia.com/efficient-products/esd-design-engineers-guide.html" target="_blank">ESD handbook. &nbsp;</a><h1>Conclusion</h1>Logic is more relevant than ever. As applications for Logic expand, the <a href="https://efficiencywins.nexperia.com/efficient-products/logic-product-features-and-application-insights-handbook.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Nexperia Logic Handbook</a> is an important resource for application and design engineers who are developing and using electronic circuits to make the most informed choices about using discrete logic in their designs.<hr><h1>About the sponsor: Nexperia</h1>Nexperia is the expert in high-volume production of discrete and MOSFET components and analog &amp; logic ICs. With an absolute focus on efficiency, Nexperia consistently produces the essential semiconductors required by every electronic design in the world: more than 90 billion annually. Products that are benchmarks in efficiency - in process, size, power, and performance - with industry-leading small packages that save valuable energy and space.With decades of experience, supplying to the world’s biggest companies, Nexperia has over 11,000 employees across Asia, Europe, and the U.S., offering global support. The company has an extensive IP portfolio and is certified to IATF 16949, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and OHSAS 18001.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1604337795643-nexperia+banner+logo.jpg" style="width: 788px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">

Logic is still an essential part of many embedded designs. A new design guide from Nexperia provides insights into product basics and applications.

The Designers Guide to Logic and Its Applications

Motion capture and the field of motion measurement are widely used in both sports and creative visual media. But in this recent short film, ‘<a href="https://vimeo.com/453613568" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Protesys</a>’ by acclaimed Brazilian director, Afonso Poyart, the worlds of sport science and Hollywood collide, and <a href="https://www.xsens.com/products/mvn-animate" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Xsens MVN Animate</a> is at the center of production.&nbsp;Afonso’s filmmaking career has earned him a highly regarded place in the global film industry, directing films such as Two Rabbits&nbsp;(2012), Solace (2015), and Mais Forte que o Mundo: A História de José Aldo (2016), to name a few. In Protesys, conventional wisdom surrounding sports is challenged head-on, tackling the increasing role technology plays in professional sports. In particular, the film – shot convincingly as a fictional documentary – focuses on the potential for high-powered, bionic prosthetics that take a step beyond assistance for para-athletes, elevating users to superhuman levels of performance. Afonso partnered with VFX studio, <a href="https://www.picmapost.com.br/" target="_blank">Picma Post</a>, to design the short film’s photorealistic visuals, creating a convincing and realistic technology concept, all despite being set in an entirely fictional context.&nbsp;We spoke with Afonso Poyart and Rodrigo Elias, founding partner and production supervisor at Picma Post, about the film’s inception, production, and the studio’s future projects.&nbsp;<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" frameborder="0" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/b6vjCVq4UQo?&amp;feature=emb_logo&amp;wmode=opaque" style="width: 784px; height: 503px;"></iframe> Perceiving Protesys&nbsp;Afonso was inspired by the incredible feats achieved by today’s para-athletes on the world stage, taking a keen interest in the role of advancements in prosthetic limbs. As prosthetic technology continues to improve, para-athletes are beginning to edge closer to the level of able-bodied sports stars, which begs the question: could robotic technology turn the tables?&nbsp;“We’ve started to see current-day parathletes, with the help of modern prosthetics, beginning to enter into higher and higher levels of sporting achievement, this inspired the basis of the film idea,” said Afonso.&nbsp;“What would happen if they equalled, and then bettered able-bodied athletes?” continued Afonso.&nbsp;With this concept in mind, Afonso opted to sculpt a world containing a new bionic prosthetic that while beyond today’s capabilities, feels like an entirely possible adaptation. You’d be forgiven for taking the premise of the film as fact, especially as it’s presented in a documentary form that demonstrates the technology as market-ready. It even stars an active, Brazilian para-athlete, Flavio Reitz:&nbsp;“Flavio is a real para-athlete from the Olympics – it’s like real life meets fiction. In the story, this futuristic tech company hires Flavio to test the new equipment,” explained Afonso.The bionic technology developed by the company goes far beyond normal expectations. Rather than just replacing the limb with something inactive, the new bionic prosthetic enhances the user’s physical ability to superhuman levels and is controlled like a regular limb using a computer chip implanted in the brain. Elon Musk’s Neuralink technology played some part in the inspiration for the brain implant idea.&nbsp;“Neuralink definitely provided some inspiration for the chip that connects the motor cortex in the brain with the robotic limbs. However, I didn’t want to fool people too much or give false hope – we wanted to create something that plays with the audience but becomes clearer as the film plays out. It’s too high-tech for today,” said Afonso.&nbsp;&nbsp;<img alt="20191020_153232-1" class="fr-fic fr-dii" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiAid2V2b2x2ZXItcHJvamVjdC1pbWFnZXMiLCAia2V5IjogImZyb2FsYS8xNjA0NjU5NDc5NTUwLTE2MDQ2NTk0Nzk1NTAucG5nIiwgImVkaXRzIjogeyJyZXNpemUiOiB7IndpZHRoIjogOTUwLCAiZml0IjogImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" width="600">Production ProcessThrough its high production standard, the short film manages to blur the line between fiction and reality, particularly in the CG animated sections that show off the prosthetic technology. To achieve this, the VFX studio utilized motion capture to generate realistic movements of athletes performing a range of sports.&nbsp;“When we first started discussing the idea and concept for the short film, we realized we needed an accurate mocap suit to record athletic movements. Here in Brazil, we don’t have lots of mocap studios or specialists, but our research led us to <a href="https://www.xsens.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Xsens</a> as the best solution. We talked a lot with the Xsens team when setting up to get the highest quality data,” explained Rodrigo.&nbsp;With a short time frame to learn how to use Xsens, the team found the technology’s ease-of-use and adaptability invaluable to the production process.&nbsp;“It was a really straightforward process for us. Picma had never operated a full mocap system and it was a learning process from scratch. Despite this, we were able to pick it up quickly,” said Afonso.&nbsp;“We were able to complete a lot of mocap directly on an athletics track. Nobody has capabilities like Xsens to complete sessions such as this,” continued Afonso.&nbsp;With the ability to record athletes live on the track, the <a href="https://www.picmapost.com.br/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Picma Post</a> team could record the full-body motion of boxers, dancers, and high jumpers with ease, generating the realistic, CG animation seen throughout the film. Picma used several stunt doubles for Flavio's routines, harmoniously merging the shots together.&nbsp;“Flavio is unable to use a real prosthetic leg and can’t walk. So every shot where he is walking is a double. We also hired a High Jumper for some of the shots too,” said Afonso.&nbsp;“We actually had three stuntmen for Flavio, one for jumping, running, and the body! added Rodrigo. “But of course, we only recorded the initial steps of Flavio’s jump with <a href="https://www.xsens.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Xsens</a>. We also had some wired cables that raised him during the recording session. As soon as he took off and went upwards, we’d cut, so the rest of the jump was all CG.”&nbsp;<img alt="IMG_0906.CR2" class="fr-fic fr-dii" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiAid2V2b2x2ZXItcHJvamVjdC1pbWFnZXMiLCAia2V5IjogImZyb2FsYS8xNjA0NjU5NDc5MTE2LTE2MDQ2NTk0NzkxMTYucG5nIiwgImVkaXRzIjogeyJyZXNpemUiOiB7IndpZHRoIjogOTUwLCAiZml0IjogImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" width="1200">“For the CG parts, we used a combination of Maya and Arnold. And every compositing shot is completed in Nuke. For now, we’re using HumanIK inside Maya to apply the mocap data and a custom rig using HumanIK as our base for the robot. We’re looking to develop custom rigs in the future,” said Rodrigo. Even high-impact movements resulted in no loss of data for the team, with the durability of the Xsens sensors proving very reliable. “We recorded a high jumper with Xsens to jump at a lower height to acquire all of the movement data as an athlete crosses over the bar. The data came out very clean, all despite the athletes hitting the mattresses with maximum force – the sensors worked fine,” explained Afonso.<iframe allowfullscreen="" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100%" scrolling="no" src="https://play.vidyard.com/7RvtWS9otmd6jKYHf2Gx81?disable_popouts=1&amp;type=inline&amp;hidden_controls=0&amp;muted=0&amp;loop=0&amp;autoplay=0&amp;new_player_ui=1&amp;gdpr_enabled=1&amp;play_button_color=2A2A2A&amp;playlist_color=FFFFFF&amp;color=FFFFFF&amp;hide_playlist=1&amp;embed_button=0&amp;viral_sharing=0&amp;v=4.2.23&amp;vydata%5Butk%5D=e1b95d4c524d7134054b8a9c5fc2f599&amp;vydata%5Bportal_id%5D=3446270&amp;vydata%5Bcontent_type%5D=blog-post&amp;vydata%5Bcanonical_url%5D=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.xsens.com%2Fcases%2Fdesigning-a-bionic-future-for-prosthetics-with-xsens&amp;vydata%5Bpage_id%5D=35219307837&amp;vydata%5Bcontent_page_id%5D=35219307837&amp;vydata%5Blegacy_page_id%5D=35219307837&amp;vydata%5Bcontent_folder_id%5D=null&amp;vydata%5Bcontent_group_id%5D=9880291723&amp;vydata%5Bab_test_id%5D=null&amp;vydata%5Blanguage_code%5D=null" title="Video" width="100%"></iframe>Feature FilmThe short is a stand-alone film in its own right, but it actually exists within a much larger universe designed by Afonso to encompass a feature-length, parallel story.&nbsp;“The short film is a case study for a feature film in production. We have a script and are just entering the production stages – the short film takes place in the same universe as the feature and acts as a precursor,” said Afonso.&nbsp;“The movie portrays a world where prosthetics are incredibly advanced. We’ve focused on different athletic sports where para-athletes use bionic limbs to become super athletes. The sporting audience and sponsors flip their interest into the bionic sports, able-bodied athletes become less significant as they’re unable to compete with para-athletes,” continued Afonso.&nbsp;“There will be two sisters, both athletes, one disabled and one able-bodied. When this technological revolution happens, the sister with the disability becomes the star, replacing the prospects of the able-bodied sister. It’s really about rivalry and what people are prepared to do to achieve success.”The feature film will take a more conventional cinematic approach, rather than the fictional documentary style of the short. But the questions touched upon in <a href="https://vimeo.com/453613568" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Protesys</a> will be expanded into realistic scenarios that are bound to cause contention. As Afonso states:&nbsp;“We always associate sports with physicality, but it seems to me that it’s much more about mental and emotional dexterity. If the robotics extends our physical ability to a higher level and really lowers difficulty constraints, what will differentiate the best athletes? Everyone might want a bionic limb, whether they need one or not.” You can check out the full short film <a href="https://www.solidlimbs.com/" target="_blank">here</a>, and keep your eyes peeled for further developments of the full feature film.&nbsp;&nbsp;<h3>Xsens MVN Animate</h3>Are you actively looking for a motion capture system? Feel free to visit our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.xsens.com/products/mvn-animate" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">product page</a>.<a href="https://www.xsens.com/cs/c/?cta_guid=62b0c95c-a32e-49a7-b027-2d1850d6c247&amp;signature=AAH58kHW8MGtxYkdRDy65TvwW8WxSoQlgA&amp;pageId=35219307837&amp;placement_guid=4d5a34f5-b6e3-4815-bb7c-67fec396482b&amp;click=d23fe1e1-9172-412a-af80-683795572401&amp;hsutk=e1b95d4c524d7134054b8a9c5fc2f599&amp;canon=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.xsens.com%2Fcases%2Fdesigning-a-bionic-future-for-prosthetics-with-xsens&amp;utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.xsens.com%2Fexplore%3Ffilter%3Dcases&amp;portal_id=3446270&amp;redirect_url=APefjpGczQu9wTNyNGmpb35KO0ZULXNHCqF9PkcH0Ho_6IWdyVwW2gu7s3VrxVumJdj3ZRgAd-220-M-7t0z5K_7GUyeMXeatlgMTlmpeIGz2ZoeriA-BJaRg2VrfHuyZEc8af2uCoVe4z_uyouYcGJWjoCuaaJ09pUhGzenbaRrw0IdC_wGbSbd4yyuUJ3xAopxB3HeKGgBp1JutLsNSkMy98evDLdzARZUnyn6TyX5GjiVzaODc8xdJtRc3xVBgNdq7JJUUPhXoG5xPx_AvClAVrZAzelHPw&amp;__hstc=81749512.e1b95d4c524d7134054b8a9c5fc2f599.1598950583555.1604655289703.1604659070195.177&amp;__hssc=81749512.5.1604659070195&amp;__hsfp=141168424&amp;contentType=blog-post" target="_blank" title="Download MVN Data Files"></a>

With Xsens

Designing A Bionic Future For Prosthetics

3D Positional Aiding and Object Tracking complete MVN Animate, revolutionizing inertial motion capture <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pno_NuhXzKg?&amp;t=28s&amp;wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" style="width: 788px; height: 466px;"></iframe> &nbsp;We proudly present the release of Xsens MVN Animate 2020 – a major update to complete Xsens’ inertial motion capture solution for studio professionals. With this development, <a href="https://www.xsens.com/products/mvn-animate" rel=" noopener" target="_blank">MVN Animate</a> can use positioning data from HTC Vive and fuse it with Xsens motion capture data for persons and objects.The new release also enables massive motion capture shoots with the new Remote On-Body Recording feature and deeper third-party hardware integration with the new Network sync. Process exact positions in a spaceThe new 3D Positional Aiding functionality is embedded within the MVN Animate engine, allowing users to process exact positional data. The Positional Aiding tracks positioning using HTC VIVE lighthouses, the leading positional tracking technology. The exact positional data from VIVE is then processed within MVN Animate software and fused with body motion capture data to present one clear picture. This new development unlocks new opportunities for studios – two or more people can be measured in a space at the exact same time, meaning groups of actors in a scene can be recorded with their relative positioning tracked. Track Objects in the FieldUsers can place sensors on objects within a space –&nbsp;such as an actor’s prop – and process the objects’ exact location in relation to an actor. When recording the body motion data of a group of people, animators can plot the position of the objects, contextualizing the motion and positional data within the environment. Remote On-Body RecordingIn any location, users can track the body motion of an unlimited number of actors simultaneously. Large, group animations can now be completed accurately with ease, and Xsens automatically transfers your data, negating the need to manually download it after the session. Synchronous motion and facial captureUsing other motion technology alongside MVN Animate has never been easier. With the new Network Synchronization feature, other tracking devices, such as <a href="https://www.xsens.com/watch-webinar/Xsens-and-Faceware" rel=" noopener" target="_blank">Faceware’s</a> and <a href="https://www.xsens.com/watch-webinar/xsens-full-body-plus-Dynamixyz-Facial-MoCap" rel=" noopener" target="_blank">Dynamixyz</a> facial capture technology can be managed from one interface. Just press record on MVN Animate to begin capturing from all devices simultaneously. International usabilityThis release includes the addition of Japanese and Korean languages, alongside the Chinese and English language options, expanding global usability.MVN Animate 2020 now offers animators around the world one of the most comprehensive multi-sensor motion data integration systems, demonstrating a degree of precision and ease-of-use that takes motion capture to the next level.&nbsp;Xsens MVN Animate 2020Learn more about <a href="https://www.xsens.com/products/mvn-animate" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Xsens MVN Animate 2020 here</a>.

In-engine Positional And Object Tracking

MVN Animate 2020, revolutionizing inertial motion capture

This ring-based smart pulse oximeter provides continuous key health data such as blood oxygen and heart rate updates with great battery life. Nordic’s nRF52832 SoC makes it possible.In the growing market of <a href="https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected/smarter-medical-monitoring?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">smart healthcare</a>, one Chinese company is ringing the changes.<a href="http://www.megahealth.cn/" target="_blank">MegaHealth</a> has launched a Smart Pulse Oximeter in the form of a ring. With Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity and MegaHealth’s Medical Pulse Oximeter, patients can access blood oxygen and heart rate updates day and night from an app.The ZG-P11D Medical Pulse Oximeter has passed trials in the country’s National Medical Products Administration and is now being widely adopted by hospitals in China.The new device is small, comfortable and more suited to long periods of wear than the clip-based alternative. But don’t get the wrong idea; small still means powerful. The performance of the Nordic <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Low-power-short-range-wireless/nRF52832?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">nRF52832 SoC</a> provides continuous synchronisation of oxygen saturation and pulse rate data over a Bluetooth low energy connection to the user’s smartphone. Yet that’s combined with optimised power consumption that allows the ring to run for more than 20 hours before recharge, which is done using the common Micro USB connector.<h2>What is a pulse oximeter?</h2>If you’ve ever had a stay in hospital, or visited relatives or friends, then you’ve almost certainly seen a pulse oximeter. Usually it’s a clip that stays on one of the patient’s fingers and it measures oxygen saturation in the blood.The pulse oximeter works by measuring the difference in absorption of red and infra-red light. Deoxygenated blood absorbs more red light than infrared and oxygenated blood absorbs more infrared light than red light. These principles have been known since the first half of the 20th century. The familiar clip-on device that’s in use worldwide today has been around since the 1970s.<h2>Why oxygen saturation is important</h2>Our bodies need oxygen to function. The amount of oxygen in our blood can be an indicator of various problems. Oxygen saturation is an important metric in many conditions including Pneumonia, Asthma, COPD and Heart Failure.Unless you’re in the middle of a punishing gym workout, oxygen saturation – the percentage of haemoglobin in the blood that is carrying oxygen – should be around 98%. A low reading of 94% or lower at rest means something is wrong. Either the lungs aren’t working effectively, or the body is using more oxygen than it should be.<h2>Consumer monitoring</h2>Outside of a hospital setting, oxygen saturation measurements can be useful too. A condition such as sleep apnea, where people stop breathing for extended periods during sleep, can be detected without the need for a full sleep study. It can also provide monitoring of conditions such as asthma to check how they’re responding to treatment without the need to take up a hospital bed.Measurements can be useful to consumers in terms of improving fitness. Oxygen levels can tell wearers how efficiently the body is using oxygen during exercise and how quickly it is recovering afterwards.Smart watches from companies such as Garmin and Withings already provide Pulse Oximetry as one of their key metrics. Runners can see whether their underlying fitness is improving and take steps to vary their workouts for further gains in pace and endurance.<h2>Nordic at its heart</h2>The new device from MegaHealth is a triumph of engineering. The ring is small, waterproof and comfortable for long periods of wear. As a ring, it’s more secure than a finger clip and so won’t fall off during sleep.Yet its small form factor manages to pack in a lot of power. The Nordic nRF52832 SoC acts as the core microcontroller with its powerful 64MHz, 32-bit Arm® Cortex® M4F processor. The 512kB Flash memory is sufficient to store and record the data, while the 64kB RAM is enough for the algorithm filtering requirements.According to MegaHealth’s Jan Wang, the Nordic nRF52832 SoC “superbly balances” power consumption and real-time performance.Thanks to the optimised energy use, the bespoke lithium-ion battery can last more than 20 hours in continuous use before recharge. As a wireless device, monitoring can continue when a patient leaves a hospital bed to walk around, for example. This is often a crucial time for oxygen saturation monitoring that is missed in traditional wired systems.<h2>A healthy marketplace</h2>MegaHealth and other companies continue to look into producing novel products that can add value in both hospital and consumer settings. Whether it’s monitoring heart rhythms to provide early warning of serious conditions or monitoring existing conditions in ways that weren’t previously possible, the market is set to expand for some time.Personal health monitoring is one of the biggest growth areas for smart technology. There is still plenty of potential for devices that provide more data for health-conscious consumers is still huge. And with today’s powerful, low-power chipsets from Nordic, the ability for manufacturers to offer more functionality is ever increasing.<hr>This article was first published on Nordic's&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Get Connected Blog</a>.

This ring-based smart pulse oximeter provides continuous key health data such as blood oxygen and heart rate updates with great battery life. Nordic’s nRF52832 SoC makes it possible.

Advanced Medical Monitoring: High Performance, Low Power

The expression “thin skinned” may no longer only&nbsp;bear a negative connotation as this concept could become the foundation for creating a new generation of&nbsp;virtual reality gloves. That’s right, a University of Illinois team of researchers have found a way to design and produce flexible circuits combined with strips of gold held in place with polymer that could act as a second layer of thin skin. Once the finger-looking creation is positioned on someone’s fingertips, the electric current produced from touching a surface brings about a physical sensation on the part of the subject “wearing” the&nbsp;virtual fingertips.With a tiny bit of extrapolation, this means that it could open the door to a&nbsp;brand new generation of virtual reality gloves or even an entire suit that could process electric current that would in turn be “translated” into physical sensations.&nbsp;From that point on, such virtual reality gloves could allow for limitless opportunities, including professional training in specialized fields of medicine where precision is of the utmost importance. These polymer-based structures could also be used for serious burn victims or amputees. The possibilities are almost endless with this new branch of virtual reality and it seems that medicine might be an interesting area for developing new and more efficient ways of healing human beings.Source:&nbsp;<a href="http://thefutureofthings.com/news/11515/electronic-fingertips-to-allow-virtual-sensations.html" target="_blank">TFOT</a>

The expression “thin skinned” may no longer only bear a negative connotation as this concept could become the foundation for creating a new generation of virtual reality gloves.

"Thin Skinned" Virtual Reality Gloves At Your Fingertips

Voice command will continue to become a natural and broadly accessible method of interacting with technology. As described in our previous article, Voice At The Edge Helps Technology Work For More People, controlling devices with speech offers a huge range of advantages to users and designers.&nbsp;Devices with voice interfaces are <a href="https://www.juniperresearch.com/press/press-releases/digital-voice-assistants-in-use-to-8-million-2023" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">expected to rise</a> from 3 billion devices worldwide to 8 billion by the end of 2035. These won’t just be more sophisticated versions of the home assistants that we know today, but a whole new range of devices and applications that will offer natural voice interaction.&nbsp;In this article, we dive deeper into how voice command on edge devices works, and take a look at the leading low power devices available for voice command system design by examining a recent <a href="https://www.syntiant.com/post/keyword-spotting-power-comparison" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">white paper</a> from Syntiant.<h1 dir="ltr">The basics of keyword spotting</h1>Smart devices are always active - listening for the predefined “wake” up instruction, such as "Alexa," "Ok Google," etc. This action is commonly known as keyword spotting (KWS). When a keyword is detected, the device wakes up and its full-scale voice recognition is activated either on the cloud or on the device. In some devices, keywords are also used as voice commands, for example, ‘hello, start, stop’ in a voice-enabled robot vacuum.&nbsp;As a KWS system is always-on, it must have very low power consumption. &nbsp;A KWS system also should detect the spoken keywords with high accuracy and low latency to attain the best user experience. Low power consumption is especially important for portable devices, such as smartphones and wearables.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjAxMjc4NDg5ODUxLXNvbnkuanBnIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==">Image: SonyThese tough conflicting system requirements, in combination with the increasing amount of voice command applications and audiences, make KWS a hugely relevant research area.&nbsp;Until recently, the only devices capable of performing KWS at edge-compatible power levels were low-power microcontroller units (MCUs) and digital signal processors (DSPs). Processor-designer, Syntiant, has recently introduced the NDP10x series of its Neural Decision Processors (NDPs), a suite of highly efficient chips purpose-built for KWS using deep neural networks that increase the options for system designers.<h1 dir="ltr">Introduction to microcontrollers</h1>Microcontrollers, sometimes known as an embedded controller, &nbsp;are present in applications with and without voice command, such as vehicles, robots, office machines, medical devices, vending machines, and home appliances. They were first developed by Intel in the early 1970s and are now produced by many other manufacturers, including &nbsp;Microchip (PIC microcontrollers), Atmel ( AVR microcontrollers), Hitachi, Phillips, Maxim, NXP, Intel, etc.The need for low power consumption for keyword spotting systems makes microcontrollers a natural choice for deploying KWS in an always-on system. However, deployment of neural network-based KWS on microcontrollers comes with the challenges of limited memory footprint and limited computer resources.&nbsp;<h1 dir="ltr">Introduction to neural decision processors</h1>The SyntiantR NDP100TM microwatt-power <a href="https://www.syntiant.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Neural Decision Processor</a>TM is the first and currently the only commercial silicon device designed to put machine learning processing into almost any consumer device. The custom-built chips are specialized to run TensorFlow neural networks. TensorFlow is an open-source software library developed by Google and available for free for dataflow and differentiable programming across a range of tasks.&nbsp;The Syntiant NDP is specifically designed for devices that use voice commands and have ultra-low power requirements making them well-suited to devices with KWS systems.The Syntiant NDP100 and NDP101 chips have been certified by Amazon, which enables the company’s neural processors to be used in Alexa-enabled devices, however, Syntiant NDPs are not limited to Alexa devices only.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNTk3MzE4NzkyNTM2LWNyb3BwZWQgZWFyYnVkcyBzeW50aWFudC5qcGciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjk1MCwiZml0IjoiY292ZXIifX19">The Syntiant NDP100 microwatt-power Neural Decision Processor&nbsp;<h1 dir="ltr">How do they compare and what do I need for my device?</h1>System designers are faced with a growing number of high-quality options for adding a KWS algorithm to their devices. As previously described, a voice command interface often requires the device to be ‘always on’ and listening for its wake words, thus low power consumption is essential. However, it can be difficult to compare the power consumption of different devices from different manufacturers. Datasheets may describe current consumption in uA/MHz, but it is not generally possible to convert that into the power required for a given task. Additionally, different network topologies, training procedures, etc., can affect system accuracy and power consumption.The critical question system designers must ask is how much power consumption will be added by a solution running a KWS algorithm with sufficient accuracy to satisfy the use case?<h1 dir="ltr">Syntiant White Paper</h1>Two recent research projects have compared device options for KWS. The 2018, “Hello Edge,” paper&nbsp;[1] performed neural network architecture evaluation and exploration for running KWS on resource-constrained microcontrollers. In 2019, Syntiant tested their NDP10x series of Neural Decision Processors against a range of MCU’s suitable for KWS which they outlined in this whitepaper [2]. The rest of this article will be dedicated to examining the results of the Syntiant test, which provides a good overview of some of the leading options for adding KWS to edge devices.<h1>The line-up</h1>The test compared several of the lowest-power options for KWS available, including their own NDP10x, and compared speed, accuracy, and power on a common task: the Google keyword<a href="https://ai.googleblog.com/2017/08/launching-speech-commands-dataset.html" target="_blank">&nbsp;dataset</a> assembled by Pete Warden of Google.&nbsp;Included in the test were the STM32F746 Discovery<a href="http://www.st.com/en/evaluation-tools/32f746gdiscovery.html" target="_blank">&nbsp;board</a>, the STM32L476G, and its <a href="https://www.st.com/en/evaluation-tools/32l476gdiscovery.html" target="_blank">evaluation board</a>, as well as the Ambiq Apollo 3 Blue, using the <a href="https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/using-sparkfun-edge-board-with-ambiq-apollo3-sdk" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/using-sparkfun-edge-board-with-ambiq-apollo3-sdk" target="_blank">SparkFun Edge Board</a>, a joint effort by Google, Ambiq, and SparkFun, and the Syntiant’s NDP100 solution using their own internal development board.<img class="fr-fic fr-dib" src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNTk3MzE4ODc1OTA4LWNyb3BwZWQgc3ludGlhbnQgYm94LmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTUwLCJmaXQiOiJjb3ZlciJ9fX0=" style="width: 788px;"><h1 dir="ltr">The test</h1>The researchers modified the code to run a batch of 20 inference cycles on each of the platforms. For the MCU targets, the input audio was taken from a pre-recorded waveform stored in memory to avoid contaminating the measurements with microphone power. The measured power includes computation of<a href="http://practicalcryptography.com/miscellaneous/machine-learning/guide-mel-frequency-cepstral-coefficients-mfccs/" target="_blank">&nbsp;MFCC</a> or filter-bank energy features, but not an ADC or microphone power. The NDP measurements include decimation of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse-density_modulation" target="_blank">PDM outpu</a>t from a digital microphone, as well as feature extraction and the neural inference energy.&nbsp;MCUs often have several on and off-chip peripherals powered from the same supply, so the Syntiant team subtracted a baseline current measurement made with the MCU powered up but idle. The NDP results are direct measurements with nothing subtracted. The MCU experiments were performed with HW settings as set in the available open-source software linked above.<h1 dir="ltr">The results</h1>The table below summarizes the measurements. Simple ‘side by side’ comparisons are difficult due to the trade-offs between model complexity, accuracy, compute time, and energy. To make reading the results more clearly, the researchers compared across three axes:- Energy per inference is the energy required to process one frame of audio samples and produce a label (e.g., “yes,” "no,” “hello”), including feature extraction and running inference.- Inference time is the time required to process one frame of audio and frame rate is its inverse, indicating the maximum number of audio frames per second that the processor is capable of processing with a given network.&nbsp;- G10 Accuracy is the accuracy result on the Google-10 keyword task.Estimates for the operations and parameter counts for the Small FC and Small DS-CNN networks are taken from the “Hello Edge” paper. For the TinyConv network used on the Ambiq chip, those figures were estimated from the code in the “Speech Commands” TensorFlow example.<img class="fr-fic fr-dib" src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiAid2V2b2x2ZXItcHJvamVjdC1pbWFnZXMiLCAia2V5IjogImZyb2FsYS8xNTk3MzA5ODAxMjI3LXRhYmxlMSBhcnRpY2xlLmpwZyIsICJlZGl0cyI6IHsicmVzaXplIjogeyJ3aWR0aCI6IDk1MCwgImZpdCI6ICJjb3ZlciJ9fX0=" style="width: 788px;"><h1 dir="ltr">What does this mean?</h1>It’s clear that the purpose-built compute path in the NDP100 provides dramatic energy savings relative to the stored-program architecture of an MCU solution. The closest result in energy, from the Ambiq Apollo 3 Blue, is 27x higher than the NDP energy, operating with a much smaller and less accurate network.&nbsp;The STM32L4786 running the Small DS-CNN network had a comparable accuracy to the NDP but requires 193x the energy.The frame rates are also critical to examine. Production KWS systems typically require at least 20 and often 100 fps in order to avoid “stepping over” a target utterance. The NDP also provides a speed advantage over low-power MCUs thanks to its parallelism and dedicated data path.The Apollo's energy advantage comes with a speed penalty resulting in a maximum frame rate of 3.7fps, which will typically yield much lower real-world precision than the software accuracy of 66 percent &nbsp;(in TensorFlow on pre-aligned data) would predict.&nbsp;Of the tested MCUs, only the STM32F746, from ST’s high-performance F7xx line, exceeds 20 fps, and it does so at an energy cost about 700x higher than the NDP, resulting in a power cost of about 50 mW (milliwatts), in addition to the baseline power required to power up the MCU initially.<h1 dir="ltr">Conclusion</h1>This test clearly demonstrates that a purpose-built compute engine for neural inference can provide energy and speed advantages over stored-program architectures. The continued development of ultra-low-power MCU’s and highly efficient purpose-built chips will bring voice to the edge in a range of applications that have the potential to disrupt the way we interact with technology.&nbsp;<hr><h1 dir="ltr">AI Voice Applications: Call for Projects</h1>Are you developing devices that include a voice interface or another application of voice technology? We would love to hear from you!&nbsp;Wevolver is looking to connect with exciting relevant projects to profile in an upcoming article about AI empowered voice applications. This is a great opportunity to get exposure among the engineering community!&nbsp;Please leave your details via this <a href="https://forms.gle/3HuBqDiRqX3wEHtK8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">short form</a>. &nbsp;We will be in touch shortly.<hr><h1 dir="ltr">About the sponsor: Syntiant</h1><h2>Voice at the edge</h2>Semiconductor company Syntiant is pushing forward voice at the edge possibilities with the development of the Neural Decision Processors™ (NDP10x). These high power r devices offer highly accurate wake word, command word, and event detection in a tiny package with near-zero power consumption.&nbsp;Currently, in production with Amazon’s Alexa Voice Service firmware, the NDP10x family makes Always-On Voice interfaces a reality by supporting entirely new form factors designed to wake up and respond to speech rather than touch. These processors will move voice interfaces from the cloud on to devices of all sizes and types, including ultra-portable wearables and devices. <hr><h1 dir="ltr">References</h1>1. Zhang, Y., Suda, N., Lai, L., &amp; Chandra, V. Hello Edge: Keyword Spotting on Microcontrollers. ArXiv, abs/1711.07128. Feb 2018. Available from:<a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/1711.07128.pdf" target="_blank">https://arxiv.org/pdf/1711.07128.pdf</a>2. Holleman, J. The Speed and Power Advantage of a Purpose-Built Neural Compute Engine, June 2019. Available from: https://www.syntiant.com/post/keyword-spotting-power-comparison

Ultra-low-power MCU’s and highly efficient purpose-built chips are bringing voice to the edge.

Keyword Spotting in Edge Device

<h1 dir="ltr">Voice in devices</h1>A voice user interface (VUI) &nbsp;allows you to interact with a device, such as a computer, smartphone, or home appliance by simply talking to it. VUIs allow you to ask Siri the weather, request Alexa to play a song, or tell your smart globe to dim the lights without ever touching anything. &nbsp;The history of voice commands goes back to the early 1950s when Bell Laboratories introduced the &ldquo;Audrey&rdquo; system, which could recognize a single voice speaking ten digits aloud. About a decade later, IBM designed <a href="https://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/specialprod1/specialprod1_7.html" target="_blank">&ldquo;Shoebox,&rdquo;</a> a computer that understood and responded to 16 words in English.Interestingly, one of the first widely available consumer products with voice recognition was a children&rsquo;s toy, the infamous Julie Doll, which could understand eight vocal sounds as commands.<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" frameborder="0" height="648" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ewu_NBUHePU?enablejsapi=1&origin=https://www.wevolver.com" width="864" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-gtm-yt-inspected-9="true" id="271065592" title="The 1987 Voice First Doll: Julie by Worlds of Wonder Commercial"></iframe>In 2011, Apple released Siri, opening the way to a range of other digital assistants in smartphones, stand-alone devices, and laptops.&nbsp;The advent of Siri and her voice assistant colleagues happened thanks to cloud computing which allowed the complex processing required to synthesize speech to occur in a remote data center with massive computing power.&nbsp;We are becoming more familiar with operating devices using our voice especially in mostly private settings such as in our cars or houses. VUI is currently <a href="https://www.dbswebsite.com/blog/trends-in-voice-search/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">estimated</a> to be in almost 3 billion devices worldwide and is expected to soar to 8 billion by the end of 2035.<h1 dir="ltr">Processing at the edge</h1>Alexa is constantly waiting patiently for your commands. However, she can&rsquo;t be constantly recording you and analyzing every sound in your house to check if it is a command. This would not only cause extreme crowding in the cloud, but it would pose a significant security issue. Instead, Alexa is only listening for &nbsp;&ldquo;wake words,&rdquo; - in her case &ldquo;Alexa,&rdquo; - which then wakes up her full system, activating her full voice recognition power. When you then ask Alexa to give you a weather report, your voice is recorded and sent over the Internet to Amazon&#39;s Alexa Voice Services, which <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Alexa" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">parses</a> the recording into commands. &nbsp;The system then sends the relevant output back to your device and you can plan your outfit accordingly. Alexa responding to your wake command is known as edge processing, which happens on the processor in the device, while the weather request is cloud processing and occurs in a data center connected to your home via the Internet.Not all voice command devices need to be connected to the Internet. Advances in edge processing mean more complex commands can be processed on the device that are free from a cloud connection, enabling faster computation with less latency and more security. Thanks to the development of ultra-low-power chips that can do neural network processing on the device, voice commands can be added to almost any device, including super small earbuds and wearables.&nbsp;<h1 dir="ltr">Why voice is important</h1>&ldquo;Speech is the fundamental means of human communication,&rdquo; <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/wired-speech" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">writes</a> Clifford Nass, Stanford researcher and co-author of Wired for Speech. Nass illustrates how humans are wired for speech and verbal communication, and provides insight into how voice offers a fast, intuitive method of accessing technology and navigating through its functions.&nbsp;Voice isn&rsquo;t just a more intuitive method of communicating with technology, it also offers an opportunity for using devices in new ways under new circumstances.Because speech requires less cognitive abilities than a touchscreen, voice-enabled devices allow a user to continue to concentrate on a task and issue commands rather than reallocate precious thinking resources to solve a tactile interface. Workers in highly concentrated environments, such as surgery, factory floors, and labs, could be assisted by voice-enabled robots to pass them tools, read charts, or monitor their health.&nbsp;These qualities can be extended to all users of voice interface devices, making our interaction with technology more enjoyable, more intuitive, and more personal.&nbsp;At last year&rsquo;s CES, &nbsp;a very expensive <a href="https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/330448/kohlers-new-smart-toilet-earns-ces-sitting-ovatio.html#:~:text=Marketing%20a%20%E2%80%9Csmart%E2%80%9D%20something%20is%20quite%20the%20trend.&text=Numi%202.0%20intelligent%20toilet%20with%20KOHLER%20Konnect%20is%20Kohler's%20most%20advanced%20toilet." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">toilet</a> that flushed via voice command was exhibited. While the demonstration seemed like a humorous application of technology in the moment, in today&rsquo;s new age of extra sanitary caution it could be lifesaving.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiAid2V2b2x2ZXItcHJvamVjdC1pbWFnZXMiLCAia2V5IjogImZyb2FsYS8xNTk2MjAwMTM0NDIzLXZvaWNlIHRvaWxldC5qcGciLCAiZWRpdHMiOiB7InJlc2l6ZSI6IHsid2lkdGgiOiA5NTAsICJmaXQiOiAiY292ZXIifX19">Image: Kohler<h1 dir="ltr">New audiences</h1>Voice command offers opportunities to introduce new and existing technologies to audiences in several ways. First, voice command devices can be easier to learn and more intuitive to use, so increasing technological skills across the globe. Additionally, &nbsp;voice control brings technology to people who have been overlooked by touch interfaces, such as people with <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275406227_Self_Assistive_Technology_for_Disabled_People_-_Voice_Controlled_Wheel_Chair_and_Home_Automation_System" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">disabilities</a> and the elderly, as well as to audiences who have been left out of cloud anchored devices due to the lack of a reliable Internet connection. Voice command functionality also opens possibilities for people with neural diversity to interact with devices, such as touch tablets, whose logic can cause confusion and frustration. [1]&nbsp;Users with physical limitations, such as reduced arm and finger dexterity, vision impairment, or blindness, may be able to naturally and easily interact with devices using their voice without additional adaptation to meet their needs. While many <a href="https://www.sesame-enable.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tools</a> have been built for users with vision impairment and blindness access, devices that are brought to market with integrated voice commands reduce the gap that can open between product launch and ability adoption. It can also reduce the cost of technology that is made especially for less able audiences. These applications can range from asking your Kindle to read you a book to managing the temperature of your home.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiAid2V2b2x2ZXItcHJvamVjdC1pbWFnZXMiLCAia2V5IjogImZyb2FsYS8xNTk2MTk4NDE1NDgxLWFsZXhhIG9uIGNsYXNzcm9vbS5qcGciLCAiZWRpdHMiOiB7InJlc2l6ZSI6IHsid2lkdGgiOiA5NTAsICJmaXQiOiAiY292ZXIifX19">Voice interface provides new ways to deliver education. Image: Bob WilliamsEdge processing means sophisticated voice command devices can be introduced into devices for use in remote areas where Internet service is limited. This may bring voice command devices to remote communities that could improve education and training. It could also open possibilities for voice command devices, such as search and rescue robots, archeological equipment, and environmental monitoring systems.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiAid2V2b2x2ZXItcHJvamVjdC1pbWFnZXMiLCAia2V5IjogImZyb2FsYS8xNTk2MTk4MjgwNjYxLWtpZCBsaXN0ZW5pbmcgdm9pY2UgYXNzaXN0LmpwZyIsICJlZGl0cyI6IHsicmVzaXplIjogeyJ3aWR0aCI6IDk1MCwgImZpdCI6ICJjb3ZlciJ9fX0=" style="width: 788px;">Voice command offers alternative ways to interact with common technology.&nbsp;<h1 dir="ltr">New Applications Due to Edge Processing of AI</h1>Advanced edge computing is available in large part due to the speed and power of the latest AI semiconductors used in voice processing. These chips have ultra-low power consumption, which makes them suitable for use in almost any portable device, from Bluetooth earbuds to smartphones to wearable health devices. The next generation of voice command devices will have the advantages of <a href="https://www.syntiant.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">on-device processing</a>. This proximity to end-users means designers can use embedded computing resources to build behavioral-based messaging, offers, and experiences, without compromising privacy or relying on cloud connectivity. These devices will be:<h2 dir="ltr">Secure</h2>No cloud requirement means voice command devices can be highly secure, operating without a network connection. Voice-recognition has the chance to become the most secure biomarkers we possess. With more AI-enabled devices on the market, voice can become part of dynamic encryption mechanisms that can provide different levels of devices in different locations. &nbsp;<h2 dir="ltr">Fast with low latency</h2>One of the biggest advantages of on edge processing is the shrinking of latency, the measurement of how long it takes for a data packet to travel from its point of origin to its destination. By resolving more processes closer to the source and relaying less data back to the center of the network, AI-enabled edge devices can greatly improve performance and speed.&nbsp;<h2 dir="ltr">Private</h2>AI-powered edge processing allows for a user&#39;s data to be stored on a personal device rather than in a remote data centre. This not only meets increasing consumer demand for more control and ownership over their personal data, but it also makes it much easier to meet emerging legislation requirements such as the EU&rsquo;s General Data Privacy Regulation (GDPR).&nbsp;<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiAid2V2b2x2ZXItcHJvamVjdC1pbWFnZXMiLCAia2V5IjogImZyb2FsYS8xNTk2MTk4MDA0MjE5LTE3MjEwNV9Wb2x2b19NaWNyb3NvZnRfQmFuZF8yLmpwZyIsICJlZGl0cyI6IHsicmVzaXplIjogeyJ3aWR0aCI6IDk1MCwgImZpdCI6ICJjb3ZlciJ9fX0=">Voice can be added securely to wearables without the need for a cloud connection. Image: Volvo&nbsp;<h1>Conclusion</h1>Voice control devices have the potential to enhance the way we communicate with current technology and create new ways of interacting with our environment.&nbsp;Highly powerful, low-energy, AI-enabled chips mean voice interfaces can now be added to anything, anywhere - with and without the cloud.Recommended reading:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/neural-network-architectures-at-the-edge-modelling-for-energy-efficiency-and-machine-learning-performance" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Neural Network Architectures at the Edge: Modelling for Energy Efficiency and Machine Learning Performance</a>As &lsquo;no-touch&rsquo; rules and etiquette become essential for public health, how can voice command bring us closer and keep us safe? How would our attitude and experience of working closely with machines change if we can communicate with our most instinctive method? And what technologies can be introduced to audiences who have been overlooked by the complexity and necessary dexterity of touch interfaces?<hr><h1 dir="ltr">About the sponsor: Syntiant</h1><h2>Voice at the edge.</h2>Semiconductor company&nbsp;<a href="https://www.syntiant.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Syntiant</a>&nbsp;is pushing forward voice at the edge possibilities with the development of the Neural Decision Processors&trade; (NDP10x). These high power devices offer highly accurate wake word, command word, and event detection in a tiny package with near-zero power consumption.&nbsp;Currently, in production with Amazon&rsquo;s Alexa Voice Service firmware, the NDP10x family makes Always-On Voice interfaces a reality by supporting entirely new form factors designed to wake up and respond to speech rather than touch. These processors will move voice interfaces from the cloud on to devices of all sizes and types, including ultra-portable wearables and devices.<img class="fr-fic fr-dib" src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiAid2V2b2x2ZXItcHJvamVjdC1pbWFnZXMiLCAia2V5IjogImZyb2FsYS8xNjAwMTczODc0NzY0LXN5bnRpYW50IGxvZ28uanBnIiwgImVkaXRzIjogeyJyZXNpemUiOiB7IndpZHRoIjogOTUwLCAiZml0IjogImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 788px;"> <hr><h1 dir="ltr">References</h1>1. Balasuriya S, Sitbon L, Bayor A, Hoogstrate M, Brereton M. Use of voice activated interfaces by people with intellectual disability. Proceedings of the 30th Australian Conference on Computer-Human Interaction. 2018;.&nbsp;2. Pyae A, Joelsson T. Investigating the usability and user experiences of voice user interface. Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices and Services Adjunct - MobileHCI &#39;18. 2018;.

AI-powered edge processing opens possibilities for voice command on any device.

Voice At The Edge Helps Technology Work For More People

There’s few people who will disagree that there is massive potential in machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies for the next evolution of <a href="https://response.nordicsemi.com/the-industrial-iot?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Industrial IoT</a> solutions. However, there’s also significant barriers for developers wanting to get started, or move beyond the basics.Companies looking to harness these opportunities will have to invest significant resources in testing and experimentation. Algorithms must be tested against real data to truly measure business impact, something that may be difficult for small companies or even large companies with no experience of AI/ML to contemplate.<h2>Machine learning out-of-the-box</h2>Rather than hiring teams of data scientists, other solutions are coming to market. One of those, <a href="https://sensiml.com/" target="_blank">SensiML</a>, is capable of auto-generating machine learning inferencing code for complex sensors like motion and vibration pattern recognition. We’re interested in this because SensiML can run locally on the nRF52 and also supports out-of-the-box connectivity to the Nordic Thingy:52 prototyping platform.The business was born out of a project at Intel. When the company cancelled the project, the team felt there was plenty of value and potential and so the core group acquired the project to continue it independently in 2017.<h2>Extracting data value, without data scientists</h2>It aims to solve a problem for developers of niche consumer and industrial projects. That being, how can you use an algorithm to extract value from the raw data from a sensor-based embedded device, without hiring teams of data scientists?“For high volume consumer product companies such as FitBit, it’s justifiable. Not so for a small startup or even a larger company targeting a more specific application or variable use case, such as a motor with vibration sensors to detect unusual operation across many different environments,” explains SensiML’s Chris Rogers.<h2>Machine learning algorithms</h2>The SensiML platform enables someone with development skills and application experience to generate machine learning algorithms. There are two ways of working with SensiML, as a general user or a more technical user.At the advanced level you can programmatically interact with the SensiML AI code generation service using the full power of Python and command-line coding. The general user mode has a GUI interface that allows users to enter constraints (e.g. available RAM), parameters (for accuracy) and then hit a button to generate candidate models.“A lot of applications can use classic learning methods such as decision trees and distance based classifiers. Simple machine learning approaches often work well when combined with automated feature extraction as SensiML supports and they need much less computing power than a full deep learning neural network. In the end, the best algorithm is the one that delivers the desired performance most efficiently,” explains Rogers.<h2>Works with Nordic</h2>SensiML can run locally on the nRF52 and also supports out-of-the-box connectivity to the <a href="https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected/get-started-with-the-nordic-thingy?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Thingy:52</a>. The SensiML team is also looking at future support for the nRF91 series.“The challenge with complex sensing is that there is a lot of richness in the raw data. It’s impractical to stream all of that, so ideally you pre-process the data and only send what you’re interested in. With the M4 and BLE radio integrated, the Nordic nRF52 has enough power to do that,” says Rogers.<h2>SensiML out in the wild</h2>The number of potential application areas for SensiML are many and varied. Rogers says there’s been a lot of interest from industries that require predictive maintenance: “There’s a lot of customer interest in being able to understand the data that comes from measuring vibrations, for example.”Other interesting application areas include building intelligence into smart devices. This could be voice recognition technology or sound recognition, for example, a microwave being able to recognize popcorn being cooked and when to shut off, i.e. when the popping noises from popcorn have subsided.The passive infrared sensors in smart lighting solutions can also benefit, explains Rogers:“There’s effectively a two pixel camera in a common passive infrared sensor. Typically the two pixels compare signals differentially and if there is a change, that’s recorded as movement. But with SensiML you can tap into those elements as waveforms and begin to recognise patterns such as direction of movement or any exaggerated movement such as the waving of arms or running. But it could also be used for monitoring occupancy of meeting rooms or bathrooms. It solves the privacy issue of not wanting cameras.”<h2>The next generation of wearables</h2>Rogers believes there’s also plenty of potential in taking fitness-based wearables to the next level:“Such devices could move beyond measuring the amount of exercise into the quality of exercise. For example, by measuring the gait during a run. We have collected accelerometer and gyro data from people on treadmills. A fitness coach then rated technique and recorded faults such as heel strike and excess leg rotation by watching the video and labelled everything. From this, we created a classifier than enables the prospect of a virtual running coach providing real-time analysis and feedback locally on the device.”<h2>The long tail of intelligent IoT applications</h2>These are just a few of literally countless applications enabled by local AI/ML running on low power connected devices such as those powered by the nRF52. What has stood in the way of realizing such diverse usages has been the complexity, skillset, and time required to implement the underlying sensor processing algorithms driving such applications.Auto code-generating AI tools like SensiML are now available to IoT developers to enable this otherwise complicated effort quickly and efficiently. Learn more about SensiML at <a href="https://sensiml.com/" target="_blank">sensiml.com</a><hr>This article was first published on Nordic's&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Get Connected Blog</a>.

Making sensors more intelligent has required substantial investment in machine learning algorithms. The SensiML platform aims to bring that cost crashing down.

SensiML: Adding Real-Time Intelligence to Sensors

The ability to integrate location and movement sensors with wireless technology in sports equipment is revolutionizing the way athletic performance can be monitored, analyzed and improved.<h2>Smart sports equipment</h2>Small-sized wireless sports tracking solutions with long battery life now enable previously impossible integration. Balls, bats, pucks, boots, helmets, and other gear play host to compact wireless tech without affecting the characteristics or performance of the equipment. In a world where “marginal gains” make the difference between winning and losing, wireless sports tracking is now mandatory. That goes some way to explaining why the industry is proving so lucrative; industry analyst Grand View Research expects the sector to register a CAGR of 20.3 percent from 2018 (when it was valued at $9.8 billion) up to 2025.Today’s built-in sensors or technology track the precise location and movement of the sports equipment in action, analyze the data and then forward it via a short-range wireless link to an accompanying app on the user’s smartphone or a web-based dashboard on their laptop.One example is pitchLogic, a baseball with a ‘brain’ that tracks its position and movement to provide critical data about each pitch. Developed by sports technology start-up, F5 Sports, the Bluetooth LE-enabled smart ball uses built-in sensors and complex proprietary algorithms to analyze the pitch in mid-air, taking approximately 75,000 measurements as the ball travels. Clay Holmes, a pitcher for Major League Baseball (MLB) team the Pittsburgh Pirates, has credited the unique data and insights provided by the pitchLogic system with helping him to discover the optimal body and arm slot positions for successful pitches, particularly in relation to his renowned ‘sinker’, a type of fastball characterized by significant downward and horizontal movement.<h2>Advanced sports training wearable</h2>Wireless tech isn’t only helping improve ball game skills. German researchers at the <a href="https://www.sport.tu-dortmund.de/sport/index.php" rel="noopener" target="_blank">TU Dortmund’s Institute for Sport and Sport Science</a> (including Dr. Marcus Schmidt, Researcher Institute for Sport and Sport Science, and Prof. Dr. Thomas Jaitner, TU Dortmund), in conjunction with Kaiserslautern-based tech developer <a href="https://www.wille-engineering.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Wille Engineering</a>, for example, have launched the <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-60639-2_1" rel="noopener" target="_blank">SpoSeNs 2.0 Professional Wearable</a>, a lightweight, ankle-worn device for reliable and accurate analysis of an athlete’s movement and biomechanical parameters.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNTkzMDA5OTY4Mzg4LTEyNDE1MTE2MS5wbmciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjk1MCwiZml0IjoiY292ZXIifX19" style="width: 788px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">In comparison to a regular fitness wearable, SpoSeNs 2.0 is designed to provide greater precision and more comprehensive data to enhance sports training and competitive performance. The solution can be used to collect and analyze detailed sprint, jump and hurdle metrics/insights which previously required complex and often expensive system installations—including light barriers, force plates, or video cameras—as well as frequent recalibration. For example, the platform’s proprietary step-detection algorithm determines the athlete’s ground contact time or step frequency in real-time.“In professional training and competition, every millisecond counts,” says Sebastian Wille, Founder of Wille Engineering. “In sprint and hurdle disciplines, for example, the athlete needs to know the point in a race when they start to fatigue, and real-time feedback is crucial to ensure suitable adaptions can be made during conditioning training.“SpoSeNs 2.0 is a universal solution for various sports applications; new use cases could be found in different sports including volleyball, beach volleyball, badminton, boxing, and horse riding,” Wille says.<h2>Nordic power</h2>The SpoSeNs 2.0 Professional Wearable is built round Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF52840 advanced multiprotocol SoC. In addition to the SoC, the product comprises a sensor node, a nine-axis IMU, and a separate three-axis, high-G accelerometer. Supported by the SoC’s powerful microprocessor and large memory, SpoSeNs 2.0 records the wearer’s movement data then processes the raw data in ‘real-time’. Using the SoC-enabled low latency Bluetooth LE connectivity, the data is then sent to a paired smartphone or tablet. The trainer can access live performance information and graphic-based analytics directly through an associated Android app.<h2>The future of sports tracking</h2>“Technologies like SpoSeNs 2.0 can take sports training and therefore performance for professional athletes to a new level,” Wille says. “At the same time, it’s also entirely possible for such a system to be used by all classes of athletes.”He’s right. ‘Smart’ sports equipment and wearables have the potential to hugely impact the future of sports tracking and performance analytics for all. And OEMs in this space will be able to boost their bottom lines just as competitors raise their aspirations.When just about every performance metric imaginable can be accurately tracked using a commercially viable, cost-effective, and readily available wireless tech solution, skills, techniques, and ultimately the performance levels of millions of athletes around the world will improve. Thanks to wireless tech, perfect practice could soon be standard practice.<hr>This article was first published on Nordic's&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Get Connected Blog</a>.

The ability to integrate location and movement sensors with wireless technology in sports equipment is revolutionizing the way athletic performance can be monitored, analyzed and improved.

Wireless solutions take sports tracking to new level

The current revolution brought by 3D printing extends to the most surprising applications, even the ones as far removed as possible from the traditional “geek” sphere. One example: fashion!The seemingly ‘niche’ market of <a href="http://www.goscan3d.com/en/applications/3d-printing-goscan-3d-scanner" target="_blank">3D printing</a> in fashion is growing rapidly and presents a very refreshing and interesting counterpoint to the most traditional, industrial uses. Here is a recent 3D printing and <a href="http://www.goscan3d.com/en/features" target="_blank">3D scanning</a> example, which prove that pairing technology and creativity is always in style!WOW – The World of Wearable ArtEarlier this year, the Auckland Museum, in New Zealand, presented a fascinating exhibition based on a theatrical fashion show presented in Wellington every year since 1987 – <a href="http://worldofwearableart.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">The World of Wearable Art</a>. The event aims at taking art off the walls of galleries and used it to adorn the human body in eccentric, imaginative ways.Among many creative designers, this year’s show and following museum exhibition featured the work of Dylan Mulder, a 27-year-old New Zealander who presented a fantastically elaborate costume named ‘Samurai Silent Dragon’.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1592839677900-N6P8313-e1473222424963.jpg" style="width: 788px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">The Asian-inspired adornment did not come from a sewing machine, but rather from… (you’ve guessed it!) a computer, a 3D scanner and a 3D printer.The costume took 4 months to complete. For this industrial designer, the technological advances are a big source of inspiration… and challenge. For this year’s WOW, he chose to create &nbsp;something that “slipped out of the 3D printer in sheets of blank plastic, to be pieced together into wearable art; a virtual reality outfit that became a reality!”<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1592839704698-98836_06157-1024x683.jpg" style="width: 788px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Samurai Silent Dragon was not Mulder’s first attempt at 3D printing fashion. He won the WOW Design Award last year for another creation, and the prize money helped him push his passion a little further. He purchased a 3D scanner and a 3D printer, which enabled him to see most of his creation come to life right by his side, in his own living room. Doing it himself saved a lot of time and effort as parts of his costume, for instance spikes and rivets, simply were not available in New Zealand. In the end, only a small part of the hat was sent to be 3D printed in the Netherlands, because Mulder wanted “a higher level of detail and accuracy”.Mulder loves that his creations help demystify the process of 3D printing to the majority of the population, who is unfamiliar with the technology. His explanation for the average laymen to the WOW: “A spool of plastic cord feeds into a heated nozzle, a little bit like a glue gun. I have 3D files, and a software slices the file into layers when a code is plugged into the 3D printer… The plastic is melting, and a very fine layer of plastic spits out. The bed drops down and puts in another layer, and eventually, the layers build up until it’s a 3D piece!”

The current revolution brought by 3D printing extends to the most surprising applications, even the ones as far removed as possible from the traditional “geek” sphere. One example: fashion!

The World Of Wearable Art... In 3D

<a href="https://tokyo2020.org/en/games/sport/olympic/sport-climbing/" target="_blank">Sport Climbing</a>&nbsp;would be debuting as an official Olympic sport in <a href="https://tokyo2020.org/en/" target="_blank">Tokyo 2020</a>, professional athletes are vying to reach the top by achieving a technical edge over their competition. That edge comes in the form of inertial motion capture. Sponsored by <a href="https://www.jll.co.uk/" target="_blank">JLL</a>, a real estate firm, six climbers were examined using <a href="https://www.xsens.com/products/mvn-analyze" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Xsens MVN Analyze</a> to assess their climbing technique. JLL teamed up with <a href="https://www.isobar.com/sg/en/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Isobar Singapore</a> and <a href="https://mktg.com/offices/singapore/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">MKTG Singapore</a> to work on this innovative project.The road to TokyoThe introduction of climbing into the Olympics sees the sport divided into three main categories:● Speed – Two climbers secure safety ropes to themselves and attempt to scale a 15m-high, 95 degrees wall faster than their opponent on identical routes● Bouldering – Athletes climb as many fixed routes on a 4m-high wall as they can within four minutes.● Lead – Athletes attempt to climb as high as they can on a wall measuring more than 15m in height, all within six minutes.With each section requiring different skillsets, athletes need to learn to adapt their climbing technique.Enter, Xsens<img alt="Climber" class="fr-fic fr-dii" data-fr-image-pasted="true" src="https://www.xsens.com/hubfs/Climber.png">&nbsp;There are physical limitations for coaches assessing their athletes through observation alone—even video often misses the trick. Details, such as the distance between the climber and the wall, cannot be accurately measured without tools working directly on the climber. With the Xsens sensors, suits can be worn during real climbs and the athletes gained never before seen insights.“The technology helps direct the distance between my body and the wall. The coach and I analyzed the movements and he concluded that my body was too far away. With this observation, I know how to improve my climbing,” explained Yau Ka-Chun, one of the six climbers.Climbing coaches need as much information as possible when assessing athletes in order to finesse the smaller details in technique, as Tatsumi Yui, Coach and Gym owner found:“The skill of the coach plays a big part in finding a climber’s weak point, so by using this technology, it is possible to find the weak point more easily.”&nbsp;<iframe allowfullscreen="" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100%" scrolling="no" src="https://play.vidyard.com/vGtVJAAZiNC4q3J5HPMimm?disable_popouts=1&amp;v=4.2.20&amp;viral_sharing=0&amp;embed_button=0&amp;hide_playlist=1&amp;color=FFFFFF&amp;playlist_color=FFFFFF&amp;play_button_color=2A2A2A&amp;gdpr_enabled=1&amp;type=inline&amp;new_player_ui=1&amp;autoplay=0&amp;loop=0&amp;muted=0&amp;hidden_controls=0&amp;vydata%5Butk%5D=465d693af42ae05f614571b3e65e8679&amp;vydata%5Bportal_id%5D=3446270&amp;vydata%5Bcontent_type%5D=blog-post&amp;vydata%5Bcanonical_url%5D=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.xsens.com%2Fcases%2Fclimbing-to-the-top-a-new-level-of-precision-at-the-tokyo-games&amp;vydata%5Bpage_id%5D=22659192274&amp;vydata%5Bcontent_page_id%5D=22659192274&amp;vydata%5Blegacy_page_id%5D=22659192274&amp;vydata%5Bcontent_folder_id%5D=null&amp;vydata%5Bcontent_group_id%5D=9880291723&amp;vydata%5Bab_test_id%5D=null&amp;vydata%5Blanguage_code%5D=null" title="Video" width="100%"></iframe> Democratizing dataAfter completion, over 100,000 data points are processed to recreate the kinematics of the climb before being uploaded to an online database. There, it can be accessed by coaches for remote analysis, meaning assessments can be made anywhere. The data can also be accessed by other climbers wanting to view and compare their own climbs with rival athletes before meeting them in competition.<img alt="Screenshot 2019-12-03 at 15.40.17" class="fr-fic fr-dii" data-fr-image-pasted="true" src="https://www.xsens.com/hubfs/Screenshot%202019-12-03%20at%2015.40.17.png">“I was able to see my climbing technique objectively, it’s like seeing myself climb from the point of view of the wall. Especially in speed, I could check my habits,” said Karin Kojima, climber.&nbsp;<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" frameborder="0" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RBGDczXd3V8?&amp;wmode=opaque" style="width: 789px; height: 448px;"></iframe> Peak PerformanceThe introduction of inertial motion capture has the potential to raise the skill level of athletes in an Olympic sport still in its infancy—athletes are reaching for new heights, and&nbsp;holding on.&nbsp;MVN Analyze software trial requestYou can request a 15 day trial for the MVN Analyze software by filling out your details <a href="https://www.xsens.com/trial-request?hsCtaTracking=f48936ce-b605-4f6e-aab6-dbcfe43208e3%7Cfbd107a2-d450-495b-a630-f017a7627aec" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.

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