Today, modern ski jumping hills can be considered high-tech facility, as they incorporate numerous high-tech devices that ensure the smooth running of competitions. Among the most important devices of a modern ski jumping hill are: a cooled in-run track, cooling units, irrigation systems, snowmaking systems, winches for moving cargo and equipment along the jump, lighting, wind screens, wind projection devices, and more could be listed. All mentioned devices are intended exclusively for enabling the execution of competitions and training, which is also the primary purpose of the ski jump. None of the listed devices include marketing, infrastructure marketing, competition promotion, or audience animation. In an effort to fill this gap, we started developing a system of illuminated ski tracks that could be installed in the existing ice-ceramic ski track without affecting its structural properties, in collaboration with a company that develops and manufactures technical equipment for ski jumps.
First, we defined the desired functionalities of the system with the client. We envisioned a system that could operate in three modes. The first mode is competition mode or competition scenario. It is desired that in this mode, the system of illuminated ski tracks communicates with the competition management system, colors the track in accordance with the jury's semaphore, and triggers a white trail for the followers. There are three providers of competition management systems on the market, and our goal was to successfully integrate our system with all providers of competition management systems. The second mode or scenario of using the illuminated ski track system is the entertainment mode. This would be used when there is no competition taking place on the ski jump, but during longer breaks, interruptions between individual series of jumps, before and after the match, and at other events in the ski jump's outrun that are not necessarily related to ski jumping. The concept of this mode is turning on and off the light bodies installed in the track and changing and blending colors according to a predetermined scenario. For the third mode of operation, we wanted to realize music visualization, where the system could be controlled together with other lighting elements on the ski jump via a DMX connection. Another connection option offers an audio input, where a musical signal could be connected, which the system would then process and in the next step realize one of the music visualization models, such as a VU meter, beat detector, or spectral analyzer.
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In the next step, we carefully examined the possibility of installing the system in the existing ice-ceramic ski track and the system's working environment. Both presented numerous challenges, as the existing construction only allows the installation of the system's light bodies in a narrow channel in the middle of the ski track, while the length of the in-run track often exceeds 100 meters. The working environment of the system also proved to be extremely demanding, as the illuminated ski track system is exposed to temperature differences from −−30°C to 40°C, constant moisture presence, and direct sunlight after installation.
The selection of system components followed, during which we had to carefully consider each of the above findings. First, we prepared a system architecture design, where we defined the components of the system. The system was designed around a main controller, which is provided connectivity by a standalone communication gateway, and we added communication modules that enable communication between the main controller and LED strips over long distances. Then, it was necessary to find system components on the market that, with their characteristics, can meet the defined requirements, both software and mechanical, i.e., the ability to operate in the considered working environment. This was followed by extensive testing of the established system, where we simulated conditions similar to the real working environment of the system in the laboratory and analyzed its response.
The final step was to design the control of the system. The desire was to integrate the control of the illuminated ski track system into an existing application, through which other elements could also be controlled. For successful realization, it was necessary to establish a new software and graphical interface, which initially did not operate entirely reliably. Therefore, we additionally enabled access to the system control via a simplified user interface through an HTTP connection. Later, it turned out that the client often could not ensure a network connection, so we also envisioned offline management, via a screen with a rotary knob.
After completing the development of the illuminated ski track system, we successfully upgraded four ski jumps, including the jumps in Beijing, which hosted the Winter Olympics in 2022. The system operates in accordance with expectations on these objects, so we can mark the development process as successful.
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