Haptic snowboard teaches you the slopes

First Turns / Zach Dischner

A haptic snowboarding system uses vibrations to help teach the sport to newcomers by reminding their limbs how to pull off particular moves.

Sensor-equipped snowboards and suits were developed by Daniel Spelmezan of the Université Paris-Sud to provide a wearable assistant for use by snowboarders-in-training.

Spelmezan, whose work looks at how tactile instructions can be used in physical activity, was particularly interested in snowboarding because the nature of the sport means the instructor must be separated from the student while they are performing the moves and is unable to give any hands-on corrections.