Is this the future of surfing?

2005/08/22 Galarraga Aiestaran, Ana - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Diseinua
• Patenteak/Asmakizunak
• Periferikoak

In addition to swimming, a New Zealand company has created swimming pools where you can surf.

The New Zealand company ASR offers swimming pools adapted to the needs of the client. The peculiarity of these pools is that they are able to generate waves, and in addition, in the same pool can produce waves of size and strength desired.

The first pools with waves were invented in the 60s, but they were not designed for surfers at all. The intention of the builders of the pools was to offer swimmers the possibility of playing between the waves.

Then, they began to consider surfing and tried to make waves that could be taken with surfboards. One of the best known pools of this type is Lake Tifoi of Disneyworld. With more than eleven million liters of water, it has a wave that goes from the pool wall to a 'beach' of sand.

However, the wave of Lake Tifoi is not enough to meet the needs and desires of surfers. It seems that it is enough to play, but for those who want to surf it is quite bad. The company ASR makes the pools to cover your needs.

These pools offer the possibility of generating a wave as you want.

According to the authors, the wave generation system developed is fully effective, both in the quality and frequency of the waves and in energy consumption. This system allows maintaining the desired space between one wave and the next, from eight seconds to thirty seconds. Thus, each surfer gives the necessary time to catch the wave. In addition, both the angle and the height of the wave are optional. Playing with the angle are waves that break fast or slowly and whose height can vary between 1 and 2.6 m.

Therefore, combining all these possibilities, the wave generator can produce steep, hard and rough waves for experts, but also small and soft waves that break slowly.

Decisive aspect of the pool

Although the wave generator is important for the generation of the right waves, the aspect of the pool is also decisive in ASR's view. Therefore, for years, we have studied the characteristics of the coasts in which are the best waves for surfing, to know what is causing the quality of the wave.

The best surf beaches have been analyzed to know the factors that influence the aspect of the wave.

Taking into account these characteristics, the design of the walls of the swimming pools they perform is special. When the wave hits the wall, the height of the wave increases by 40%. This means an energy saving, since from 2 meters of wave a wave of 2.6 meters is obtained.

Another feature that helps save energy is the sharp tip of the pool. The pool has a more sharp side than the other, which allows to lengthen the path without increasing the pool too much. In conventional pools, the tour is short and the wave is decreasing as it moves forward. On the other hand, in the pools carried out by ASR, the wave does not lose height, since as the walls advance they approach. Thus, the wave does not lose energy.

Adaptable background

In addition to the walls, the background also greatly influences the waves. The bottom of the last pools of ASR is adaptable. In the investigations carried out on the beaches, the funds have been analyzed and the relationship between the aspect of the bottom and the resulting wave has been observed. All these data have been introduced to the computer and have created different models.

For the implementation of these models, an adaptable pool has been invented. The name of the pool is Versareef, a variable reef approximately. In fact, they have tried to do so, a pool with a totally changing background. For this purpose, the bottom is covered with flexible rubber, under which cats are found, as those used to lift the vehicle to replace the wheel of the car. By order of the computer, the background adopts the desired shape. In this way, they generate a wave depending on the bottom mounds and the slopes.

Will the new swimming pools replace the beaches? I am in negative.

For example, they realized that in the famous wave Pipeline of Hawaii were decisive the steep bottom of the beach and the mounds in right angle with the wave. Imitating this, the Versareef pool forms a wave called Hawaii. As in these islands, this wave is very steep and reaches great height.

In addition to the so-called Hawaii, the Versareef pool produces three other waves: California, Indonesia and Australia. Each has its particularities, for example, the California wave is easier for beginners than for Hawaii, which is much smoother.

For next year, three new Versareef swimming pools will be installed at Ron Jon Surf Park in Florida (USA). Surfers will have the opportunity to travel 70 meters in the largest on waves of 3 meters of height. That, however, will be just one of the options, as everything can change as you want. Among other things, in a few minutes you can change the wave from left to right and vice versa.

In this company of New Zealand, in addition to the pools, other activities are carried out. For example, they manufacture modules to place in the bottom of the sea to change the direction or angle of the wave. In this way, the surfer can surf wherever you want about the type of wave you want.

In water and well informed

So they have managed to make a wave as you want. And surfers also have at their disposal the most advanced tables. In fact, since last year, the tables with the built-in computer are already on the market. Built by Intel, it allows Internet access via wireless connection.

The tables with built-in computer were released last year. Photo: Intel Intel Intel® Intel® Intel Intel® Intel Intel® Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel Intel

To make a board with computer have counted with the help of a professional who manufactures surf boards. They did not want technology to influence the form of surfing and the sensations that the surfer has. And it seems they have invented it. The computer board is as light and suitable as the rest, but has other advantages.

For example, surfer Duncan Scott presented the table. Scott is a professional surfer, dedicated to surfing, who makes books and films about surfing. Well, for him it is essential to be informed at all times, and that is why it is a great advantage to have a table of this type: “Thanks to this board, going to where I go, my entire office is as if I took me with me.”

The computer works the same while resting on the beach as when it is waiting for the waves in the sea. In addition, it has an additional battery that is charged with solar energy, which allows the battery to last days.

Integrated in the front of the board, the computer is inside a box that totally protects from water. The materials of the box are solid but light: the seal is silicone, the cap is transparent polyvinyl chloride and the aluminum structure. The computer itself is a laptop with a wireless chip, a 1.7 Ghz processor and a 80 Gb hard disk.

The computer board is as simple as walking on the wave.

They expect more applications to be available over time, for example, a camera can offer images taken from the table in real time. Undoubtedly, these images will be more impressive than those taken from anywhere else.

Yes, do not think it is enough to have a computer on the board. To be able to use the computer, there must be a wireless connection point on the beach. This type of services are still not common on the beaches of Euskal Herria, but it is possible that in all cases the computer can be used without cables before it late.

Support for beginners

Learning to surf is easier at the Malibu pool than at sea. That's what they say from ASR.

According to ASR, they make custom surf pools, adapted to the needs and characteristics of the client. This means that they also make pools for those who do not know anything about surfing. And it seems like this: The specially designed pool for beginners is called Malibu.

For surfers it is very difficult to learn to perceive when and with what strength the wave comes. In the Malibu pool the waves are always the same size (between 0.5 and 1 meter) and the distance between them is free.

In addition, beginners have great difficulty picking up the wave to paddle and then standing up to stay on foot. To avoid these initial steps, the Malibu pool has a system to place the surfer standing on the board over the wave. In this way, the novel surfer has no more work than to maintain the balance on the wave.

Published in section D2 of Deia.