​Improving ski techniques, recording training times, choosing the right pair of skis, and making sports fun: three partners have designed the first connected battery-free device aimed at making skiing more efficient while collecting information for a more enriching experience.

Its three key partners are Lumiplan, at the forefront of real-time information on physical and digital screens for ski resorts, Rossignol, and CEA, who have been benchmarking advanced research findings against the real needs of skiers for the past two years.

Collective intelligence serving skiing

In 2015, CEA partnered with Rossignol to make major technological strides in winter sports and to contribute to the technical excellence of products by this world leader in ski equipment.

Having paired up with Lumiplan, the inventor of real-time slope maps, the collaborative industrial innovation strategy of these past three years has led to trialling a first ski prototype equipped with a groundbreaking sensor under actual conditions. By including a Smart Ski Experience feature in its Mountain Live proprietary app (Android and iPhone), it is now possible to connect with instrumented skis, and to collect highly detailed information about skier practices via their smartphone.

Innovative technology

This new, low environmental impact, battery-free technology with minimal embedded electronic components will give users the possibility to improve their skiing technique, make training fun, and extend the life of their equipment through more efficient monitoring. In so doing, the technology opens the way to circular economy.

Two piezoelectric devices transform the weight of skis in bends into electric power to fuel ultra-low power electronics and estimate a skier's weight on skis. Protected by several patents, this French innovation is based on two unprecedented breakthroughs:

• Fusing data generated directly from a user's skis with smartphone data (accelerometer, gyrometer, GPS, etc.); enhanced by AI, it generates three precise figures: how powerfully a skier leans into turns, turn frequencies, and speed. 
• The system recovers microwatts throughout a ski run.  It optimizes the use of this ultra-low energy to make calculations and stores data before sending it to the skier's phone via Bluetooth.
  

This February, experience innovation on the slopes of Courchevel and Méribel.

Early mainstream trials will be held this year, from February 6th-19th, 2023 in the spectator village (freely accessible) of the 2023 Courchevel Méribel Alpine Ski World Championships, with support from the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. This new experiment phase, which could enrich future value propositions of ski markets, will enable visitors to test the Smart Ski Experience on the slopes to test their competence, challenge friends or family, and participate in a daily challenge depending on their level (beginner, average, advanced, or expert).

As key links at every stage of Smart Ski Experience project developments, Lumiplan, Rossignol, and CEA will be offering innovative solutions that will provide genuine ski breakthroughs, contributing to the influence and excellence of French know-how and participating in ski resort evolutions and experience enrichment.

"𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙎𝙠𝙞 𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙬𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙔𝙎𝙋𝙊𝙏 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙗𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝘾𝙀𝘼 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙨. 𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙍𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙤𝙡 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙧 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙨, 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥 𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙝𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙚𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨, 𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙝 𝙠𝙚𝙮 𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖𝙨 𝙇𝙪𝙢𝙞𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙫𝙞𝙖 𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙡𝙙 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨. 𝙏𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙬𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙦𝙪𝙚 𝙎𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙎𝙠𝙞 𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡!" Philippe Watteau, CEA Director of Technological Research Innovations