UC San Diego Uses EEE PCs To Create Best Surfboard [A Pair of Wireless Computers and a Lot of Waterproofing Helps Scientists Develop Board]

Posted on TFTS by Steve Anderson on Wednesday, 25. August 2010 under: Computers & Computing, Devices, PCs, Notebooks, Netbooks & Tablets, Transportation Tech

Surfboards are not what most people think about when they think of gadgets, but when you bring a pair of EEE PCs together with a crew from the University of California-San Diego, you get a shot at the greatest surfboard ever designed by man.

But it’s not just the wireless PCs that get us to the goal, it’s also a suite of eight sensors, coupled together with the PCs and a whole lot of waterproofing that allows the UC-San Diego bunch to measure water velocity and other such factors (I’d figure water temperature would have to be in there somewhere) to determine optimal flexibility, which is the point at which a board bends just right to accommodate the flow of water.

The thing is, surfers have long been divided into two schools of thought: some favor the rigid board, while others favor the flexible variety. But no one’s brought any kind of hard science to the table in a bid to settle the debate and discover just what level of flexibility yields the best results.? Now, that’s actually happening.

What they’ll find remains to be seen, though many likely wonder if this is even necessary. But to the surfing community, this will no doubt be a welcome study.

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