New technologies pave the way for equipment that enhances sports performance

With the objective of putting technology at the service of a better sporting performance, Ave Rowing Boats challenged INEGI to contribute to the creation of more rigid and lighter rowing boats, capable of being customized according to the athlete's characteristics.

The company, dedicated to the development, construction, maintenance and repair of rowing boats for sports purposes, relied on the Institute's experience in the development of customized and adapted solutions, in order to create equipment designed to maximize the physical performance of its users.

This  requires a new production methodology for the manufacture of rowing boats using a single mould. One-piece mold production means that there is no need for external gluing of the shells and tops, which increases rigidity and reduces the weight of the structure.

To this end, INEGI's team designed systems that allow the characterization of the mechanical properties of the boat, such as its mass, center of mass, flexural rigidity, drag force and moments of inertia of the vessel.

As Tiago Domingues, technical coordinator of the project at INEGI, explains, "the systems developed allowed the company to gain greater knowledge of the properties of its products. They now also have the ability to measure and compare different boats, which will be essential in creating the monoblock manufacturing methodology”.

In addition to these systems, "a ballast mechanism was developed that allows the distribution of mass along the length of the boat, promoting the alteration of the mechanical properties of the same, according to the preference and objectives of the athletes of the rowing modality, fulfilling the optimization and customization of the vessel”, he adds.

The project "BRP - Optimization and customization of a rowing boat according to the athlete’s characteristics” is co-financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund, under the Norte 2020 and PORTUGAL 2020 programs.