Running without air resistance
A newly developed airshield supports track and field athletes such as Mujinga Kambundji with overspeed training.
Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed an airshield within the space of a few months that facilitates a new type of high-speed training – running without air resistance. The Airshield is a U-shaped Plexiglas windscreen with wheels that is driven in front of the runner in a go-kart. Sensors regulate the speed, the driver in the go-kart only has to steer. This enables athletes to reach competition speeds during training that are otherwise only possible with an increased adrenaline level.
They can use the new technology to optimise and internalise movement sequences at high speeds. “Training with devices such as the airshield helps me to squeeze out every last percent from my training. And it’s fun,” says track and field athlete Mujinga Kambundji. You can see in the video how the airshield works and the challenges met by the researchers.
Together we can achieve goals faster
The development of the airshield is an example of interdisciplinary collaboration at ETH Zurich. The following professorships are involved:
- Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control:
Professor Melanie Zeilinger, Professor Emilio Frazzoli, Dr Andrea Carron, Marcus Aaltonen, Shengjie Hu, Pascal Sutter - Institute of Human Movement Sciences and Sport:
Professor Christina Spengler, Dr Philipp Eichenberger
