Design student needs your help!

[hech117 0]

Hi all,

I am a beginner skydiver and industrial design student in Boston researching ideas for my senior thesis. Do any of you have any common problems pertaining to skydiving that you would like to address whether big or small, these tips could help me design a possible solution around it and graduate with an awesome skydiving product. Any type of problems and information you or others you know have experienced will be really useful!

Thanks,

Hech

[wmw999 2,291]

You might not graduate with an actual product, because others are looking, too.

But an easy-to-manufacture, easy-to-customize, easy-to-use helmet camera snag protector would be awesome. Lots of people are mounting Go-Pros to their helmets, mostly using the standard mount. It can catch lines, which is bad. Most of these people won't do anything too expensive (yeah, a short-term decision, but these aren't all rocket scientists ).

Anyway, a thought. You get to research what it means to be snag-proof, how the Go-Pro mounts, how the cameras are used in skydiving, what "usability" means in a skydiving application, etc.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[airtwardo 7]

I can think of several offhand~ How extravagant do you want to get?



An opening shock arrestor that would work to prevent serious injury on those occasional incapacitating explosive openings.

An audible that real-time gives both altitude and rate of descent / vertical speed as a tool in swooping.

No drag / low bulk & weight PFD.

Small HUD that interfaces GPS and Wind Aloft.

Coin-op Parachute Packing Machine.

'No Fart' in a spray can.

Shall I go on?

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[cazzercam 0]

a helmet that has a camera built in, thats comfortable, doesnt make you look like a tit, and is a full face, that doesnt fog.

a skydiving simulator, basically a hanging harness that has a screen of a floor, that simulates you under a fully functioning canopy of your choice, so that you can practise what happens on your toggles or on your rear/front risers, and it gives you that feel of being under a canopy, but your actually only 3 feet from the floor.

it would need to be big so that it can spin you around like your on a normal canopy, and to attach the same sense as normal.

you could call it the swoop master, then people can learn to swoop on a machine, and then swoop in real life, hopefully without killing themselves, as they have practised not killing themselves on the machine

basically a wind tunnel for canopies.

of course you want to make this machine, your gonna have to give me at least 80% of what you make :D

[hech117 0]

YES! Thank you guys!

These are all awesome ideas please be sure to spread to the word about this thread. I will continue to post my progress on my project.

Aside from being logical, ideas can be outrageous and out of the box as well.

Thanks and keep em coming.

[ridebmxbikes 0]

hech117

Aside from being logical, ideas can be outrageous and out of the box as well.

there's always that irritating problem of having to land. don't get me wrong, i have fun landing and try to make the best of the situation but sometimes i just don't wanna land

[dthames 0]

hech117

Hi all,

I am a beginner skydiver and industrial design student in Boston researching ideas for my senior thesis. Do any of you have any common problems pertaining to skydiving that you would like to address whether big or small, these tips could help me design a possible solution around it and graduate with an awesome skydiving product. Any type of problems and information you or others you know have experienced will be really useful!

Thanks,

Hech

Are you more mech or electrical?

Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

[yoink 321]

ridebmxbikes

***Aside from being logical, ideas can be outrageous and out of the box as well.

there's always that irritating problem of having to land. don't get me wrong, i have fun landing and try to make the best of the situation but sometimes i just don't wanna land

go paragliding.

[hech117 0]

*** Are you mech or electrical?

[sfdoc00 0]

cazzercam

a skydiving simulator

These types of systems have been in use for about a decade but an "affordable" one is a different story

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1361500/MoD-launches-500-000-parachute-jump-simulator.html

[ianyapxw 0]

cazzercam

a helmet that has a camera built in, thats comfortable, doesnt make you look like a tit, and is a full face, that doesnt fog.

You're asking for Google Glass, and either way people don't want a low quality camera (even a GoPro has 'good' resolution)

Quote

a skydiving simulator, basically a hanging harness that has a screen of a floor, that simulates you under a fully functioning canopy of your choice.

I'm sure there's the technology available, just that no one is willing to spend the money. We have stuff that trains astronauts. You realise how massive the first project will have to be? Engineers, physicists, parachute consultants, sure, we can have it, but find someone to pay the money.

[potatoman 0]

Airbag for hard landings?

Anti Swoop F*(^&kup device.

Idiotometer, or also knows as wuff-o-meter

Wing adjuster. So you can have serious fast flight on top, and then a conservative wing to land with.

Wingsuit that can adjust in such a way you can land it.

And yes, the ultimate would be a packing machine.

You have the right to your opinion, and I have the right to tell you how Fu***** stupid it is.
Davelepka - "This isn't an x-box, or a Chevy truck forum"
Whatever you do, don't listen to ChrisD.

[cazzercam 0]

ianyapxw

***a helmet that has a camera built in, thats comfortable, doesnt make you look like a tit, and is a full face, that doesnt fog.

You're asking for Google Glass, and either way people don't want a low quality camera (even a GoPro has 'good' resolution)

Quote

a skydiving simulator, basically a hanging harness that has a screen of a floor, that simulates you under a fully functioning canopy of your choice.

I'm sure there's the technology available, just that no one is willing to spend the money. We have stuff that trains astronauts. You realise how massive the first project will have to be? Engineers, physicists, parachute consultants, sure, we can have it, but find someone to pay the money.


he asked for idea's, I gave them, the helmet idea isnt google glass as they are glasses, I asked for a fullface that has a decent (ie gopro or better) camera built in to it, hopefully not as an "add on" looking thing, something smooth that you wouldnt actually notice unless you where looking.

[Doug_Davis 0]

airtwardo

No drag / low bulk & weight PFD.

One of our vendors (MTI) makes two you should look at.

Belt mounted
http://www.mtiadventurewear.com/sup/web4009-web-fluid-20

Yoke style
http://www.landfallnavigation.com/mustangmit100.html?cmp=froogle&kw=md2016&utm_source=md2016&utm_medium=shopping%2Bengine&utm_campaign=froogle

The fanny pack/belt style would probably be preferable for skydiving.

[hech117 0]

Great ideas guys. This is helping me so much.

Any thoughts on improvements made to jump/wingsuits?

[Skytrooper 0]

My girlfriend has problems flying a correct landing pattern (where should i be at which height). Maybe there ist the need for an iPhone app which uses GPS, and guides you (earphones?) to a spot-on landing.

Canopy collisions are also an issue. Maybe you could have a beeper that goes when another skydiver is within 20 feet range. Like planes have it.

/Jan

[ridebmxbikes 0]

yoink

******Aside from being logical, ideas can be outrageous and out of the box as well.

there's always that irritating problem of having to land. don't get me wrong, i have fun landing and try to make the best of the situation but sometimes i just don't wanna land

go paragliding.

You don't tell me what to do! I DO WHAT I WANT!!!

[Di0 1]

Also, I've been thinking for a while to some small GPS signal emitter that would sit somewhere on the risers and turn itself on after a cutaway, so that you can easily locate your canopy using an app on your phone... but I haven't been able to come up with an idea a) small enough not to get in the way when mounted on the risers b) where the activation switch would not get in the way of the 3 rings, even if it is just for the sake of a mental exercise...

I'm standing on the edge
With a vision in my head
My body screams release me
My dreams they must be fed... You're in flight.

[Hellis 0]

Skytrooper

Canopy collisions are also an issue. Maybe you could have a beeper that goes when another skydiver is within 20 feet range. Like planes have it.

/Jan

If a canoy flies at about 40 km/h, thats 36 feet/s.
And in a head on collision you then move towards eachoter at 72 feet/s.
This beep will warn you about 0.28 s before impact if both GPSes are perfectly accurate.
But normally yo have 2 m inaccuracy on the "best" GPSes so that could mean the "beep" will warn you about 0.19 seconds before impact.

[airtwardo 7]

Doug_Davis

***
No drag / low bulk & weight PFD.

One of our vendors (MTI) makes two you should look at.

Belt mounted
http://www.mtiadventurewear.com/sup/web4009-web-fluid-20

Yoke style
http://www.landfallnavigation.com/mustangmit100.html?cmp=froogle&kw=md2016&utm_source=md2016&utm_medium=shopping%2Bengine&utm_campaign=froogle

The fanny pack/belt style would probably be preferable for skydiving.


Actually the 'belt' type...though easier to wear, isn't what you want 1st choice when you need one.

I know there are all kinds on the market - I was giving a design idea as asked...one could be 'engineered' that would dovetail perfectly into what 'our' needs would be...imagine it integral to the harness itself yet removable...maybe self activating when wet fro a certain time. (swoop proof)

This is a exercise in concept design (& fabrication?) - currently produced products need not apply.

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[NWFlyer 2]

Automatic packing machine.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[airtwardo 7]

NWFlyer

Automatic packing machine.

It's so easy ~ a monkey could do it!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[hillson 0]

I used a sim last year at SOFIC. Big money...had VR goggles, a hanging harness that swung from belly to deployed,proper set toggles, cutaway sim. The works.

The engine driving the software was decent enough I guess. The lack of the physical dimension was real limiting. Somewhat useful if you could load a decent terrain model for "hard to get to" areas I suppose. Fun game but ultimately cheaper to just gear guys up and throw them out of a plane.

[riggerrob 598]

Safety whistles

Propeller brakes

a tilting floor for students who are slow on climb-out

a clicker for AFF Instructors

a jumpsuit with electronic aids to assist students in arching

a puffer to blow air up students' noses to remind them to breath

tow wigglers to remind students to relax

a suction bag for riggers

[hech117 0]

riggerrob

Safety whistles

Propeller brakes

a tilting floor for students who are slow on climb-out

a clicker for AFF Instructors

a jumpsuit with electronic aids to assist students in arching

a puffer to blow air up students' noses to remind them to breath

tow wigglers to remind students to relax

a suction bag for riggers

All great stuff guys, can wait to start researching more. Everyone has been a huge help!