Fast, Protective, Warm, Beautiful - Developing High-Tech Fabric for the Winter Olympics with DIC
To prepare for the Beijing Winter Olympics (February 4th-20th), a research team led by Professor Liu Li, Director of the National Winter Sports Apparel Equipment R&D Center and Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, undertook a special R&D project to develop cutting-edge, high-performance, competition apparel for the Chinese Winter Olympic Team. Professor Liu Li and her team of engineers understood that each component of sportswear must adapt to the movement of the body, and they describe the relationship between the structure of clothing and the needs of the human body like the relationship between serving and being served. Therefore, an understanding of the structural design of the moving parts of the body is particularly important in the design and production of competition clothing.
To better measure the subtle movements of the body, the research engineers at BIFT deployed the powerful VIC-3D digital image correlation system from Correlated Solutions. This non-contact, strain and deformation measurement technology was able to track the movement of the skin and muscles in key parts of the body of athletes in speed skating, alpine skiing, and other racing competition events. The VIC-3D system provided data for the personalized structural design of competition suits, which allowed them to be more comfortable and better fitting. These unique suits meet the demands of speed and protection, but also play a role in beautification and decoration.
"For an athlete, 0.01 seconds is very important, and it may lead to a medal."
In short track speed skating, the first consideration of clothing is speed, so the engineers faced the problem of comprehensive drag reduction. In such competitions, athletes' movements are complex, and the range of motion is large, which results in obvious oscillations of the athletes' muscles and skin. Furthermore, the complex shape of the skin surface in some positions increases the difficulty of measurement with traditional techniques such as strain gauges. The use of the VIC-3D non-contact full-field strain measurement system allows collection of quantitative data such as full-field deformation and displacement of the skin surface during exercise, and its powerful stereo camera technology provides an unmatched ability to perfect the structural design of competition clothing.
Our technical representatives in China - Beijing Ruituo Shichuang Technology Co., Ltd. is extremely proud to have the chance to assist the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology with key research and development projects and technical services related to digital images as part of the 2022 Winter Olympics. Along with our partners Beijing Ruituo Shichuang Technology Co., Ltd., Correlated Solutions would like to thank Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology for its support and recognition of our company. As always, we are committed to providing users with integrated scientific research solutions with high-quality technical support and services to facilitate scientific and technological innovation.
