Infrastructure

We collaborate with Dalarna University and the Municipality of Falun to use Lugnet sports arena for experiments, demonstration and sharp tests in competitions. Bosön is the national development center of our partner RF, which may be readily accessible for tests, demonstrations and experimental evaluations. Access to other arenas will be negotiated with the City of Stockholm and other providers as needed.

Research also needs infrastructures with reasonable longevity. KTH have many established research facilities and infrastructures that are not specific for sports engineering but yet well suited to contribute to such research. We have wind tunnels, materials testing laboratories, studios for digital imaging and visualization, laboratories for studies and simulations of human motion and mobility, as well as laboratories where motions, vibrations and loading can be artificially applied to test objects, to authentic sports equipment and even to test persons.

Prototypes

Prototype systems and services are regularly used for experimental evaluations in applied research and for demonstration of the utilities of new artefacts. These prototypes are too often unmaintained when the project funding is over. Yet, there can be good value in them for business innovation that might not come timely within the project duration, but rather later when a need or customer appears. An infrastructure provided by the Center is therefore a code repository with documentation, contact persons and terms of use. There might similarly be need for storage of physical prototypes.

Furthermore, sports of all sorts may generate vital data sets of great volume (for instance by means of multi-view video) for machine learning, artificial intelligence and other forms of analysis and modeling. The data volumes need to be managed for data-readiness, storage and availability, integrity and security.

Student facilities

Student participation in innovation work, competitions and hobby projects requires access to student laboratories, workshops and makerspaces. A newly established pre-validation gym is connected to KTH makerspace in Flemingsberg. It provides students and researchers the possibility for in-house pre-validation of their developed hardware and software. This results in more robust system for in-field tests with elite athletes and other target groups. Further access to facilities will be negotiated with the university and outside providers, for instance the maker space of KTH Innovation and the external Stockholm Maker Space.