Goggles Give Ski Jumpers Real-Time Takeoff Feedback

Researchers at ETH Zurich are testing wearable goggles that deliver instant corrective cues to ski jumpers as they race down the ramp and take off. Sensors on the athletes’ ski boots measure body position and pressure continuously, relaying that data to small red or green lights in the periphery of the jumper’s vision and to a coach’s laptop at the bottom of the hill.

The system, introduced at an IEEE conference in 2023, is intended to provide brief, usable signals rather than a flood of information. The engineering challenge was to translate raw sensor output into feedback an athlete can use without overthinking or risking a mistake.

"We have created a sensor system that collects data and is able to process this data and save the data and transfer it to the cloud or give feedback to the athlete," Dr. Christoph Leitner said, while noting much of the data can be analyzed after the skier has landed.

Switzerland, Zurich

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