Jacqueline Chen
Industrial design 6
DNH603_19se2
Technological foundations and current status of a modified, low-risk form of competitive boxing (Box'Tag®)
BOX'TAG
• the emergence in Australia of a modified, low-risk form of competitive boxing called Box’Tag
• the rules of Box’Tagw prohibit impacts to the head and any impacts above a moderate level of force
• contestants wear instrumented equipment that, in combination with a dedicated software package, allows automated impact detection and real-time display of scores
• now established in three Australian states and about to be initiated elsewhere
• Box’Tagw is attracting demographically diverse participation and injury rates are low
• physiological and perceptual data recorded during contests show Box’Tagw to be a highly intensive activity and an excellent vehicle for building physical fitness
• development of Box’Tagw as a viable, safe, challenging, attractive and enjoyable sport
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RESULTS
• Box’Tagw prohibit impacts to the head
• to wear head guards and mouthguards as protection against accidental head impact
• male contestants to use groin protectors and for females to use a chest protector
• necessary to redefine the target zone to include just the torso and small areas on the upper arms
• wear T-shirt style instrumented vests and standard gloves with patches of conductive material affixed to their surfaces
- silver-coated nylon yarn through which a low-level electrical current can be run
- a small transceiver worn in a pocket at the back of the vest generates the current
- patches of conductive material are affixed to the gloves
- electrical resistance data are transmitted by Bluetooth to a ringside computer
(The vests and glove patches show in Figure 1)
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(Figure 2 show the vest production process)
• conductive glove patches - two different types of conductive glove patch have been used
- Two-layered knit patches, with the under layer incorporating silver-coated yarn (Show in Figure 3 )
- patches can be glued to gloves much more easily and seldom come adrift
- Later versions incorporating the same silver-coated thread as the vests are more durable
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• each contestant is now required to wear only one transceiver, which is located in a pocket on the back of vest (Before need to wear four)
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Figure 1. Box’Tag contest showing instrumented vests and gloves. (Photograph and q by Kris Arnold of Kris Arnold Photography, 2012, reproduced with kind permission.)
Figure 2. Construction of Box’Tag vests:
(A) knitting of sensor fabric on Jumberca Mini Jacquard double knit machine;
(B) monitoring of yarn tension on knit machine to optimise fabric quality;
(C) pattern layouts for producing vests of different sizes while retaining required positioning of sensor electrodes;
(D) electronic connection of sensor electrodes via fabric running horizontally across torso region of vest and flexible cable running from shoulder target regions.
Figure 3. Two-layered knit conductive patch attached to the surface of boxing glove (also shown is the transceiver used to record signals from vest sensor electrodes and transmit them via Bluetooth to a ringside computer). (Photograph and q by Kris Arnold of Kris Arnold Photography, 2012, reproduced with kind permission.)