[08
OCT 98] UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK PRESS RELEASE
David Seaman Helps Researchers Take Goalkeeping Into The Space-Age Warwick Manufacturing Group (part
of the University of Warwick) has joined forces with Umbro International to create the
most technologically advanced goalkeeping glove ever for England and Arsenal goalkeeper,
David Seaman.
Technology more commonly used to design and build
BMW cars and Rolls Royce aeroengines has been adapted for sport product design. The
researchers on the glove project, led by Vinesh Raja, (Principal Research Fellow at
Warwick Manufacturing Group), have been working with Umbro’s own Research and Design
team to create a groundbreaking new process, which streamlines both the way gloves can be
made and the way they will perform on the pitch.
The design begins with a Wicks and Wilson optical scanning
device, which captures all the data necessary to produce a 3-D computer model of the hand.
This image is then processed using a reverse engineering technique that analyses the
millions of data points quicker and more accurately than ever before. Warwick
Manufacturing Group’s new technology means that the whole design process is speeded
up, with gloves that exactly fit the hand.
The glove, which is being designed for David Seaman using
this technology, is currently at prototype stage and will probably be released in the year
2001. Professor Kumar Bhattacharyya, Director of the Warwick Manufacturing Group, said:
“We are delighted to be working with Umbro on glove
technology. The advanced manufacturing techniques that we have developed here have
applications in many sectors of industry. Customers have the right to expect the best. We
are working with companies around the world to ensure that they have the skills and the
technology to meet that expectation.”
Tony Wicks, Chairman of Wicks and Wilson said :
“We are very excited that our 3D capture system has
been used to produce gloves that will help England's top goalkeeper. This shows how
advanced engineering technology can be harnessed to produce a wide variety of products.
This is an example of how the ability to capture 3D objects quickly and accurately opens
up new opportunities”.
Martin Prothero, Director of Sports Marketing at Umbro,
added:
“We’re very excited by the technological
possibilities opened up to us by our partnership with the Warwick Manufacturing Group.
Umbro is determined to remain at the forefront of new technology in all our products and
it’s particularly pleasing that the prototype design for this glove is being created
with the help of England’s top goalkeeper.”
NOTES
- Since opening in 1980, the Warwick Manufacturing Group, part
of the University of Warwick, has worked with its partners to give them the technology and
skills to succeed in competitive global markets. WMG has education and research
partnerships with over 500 organisations. Over 20,000 managers have benefited from WMG's
programmes.
- The images are captured using a Wicks and Wilson TriForm
optical scanner which creates a cloud of millions of data points. The cloud of points is
then analysed on a Sun Microsystems Ultra 60 workstation using Imageware reverse
engineering software. This yields an image of the hand which can be used in conventional
computer aided design applications or in virtual reality.
MORE INFORMATION:
Tom Goodwin, Warwick Manufacturing Group 01203 522962
Peter Dunn, University Press Officer 01203 523708
Glen Littlewood, Umbro International 0161 946 8351
Tony Wick, Wicks and Wilson 01256 842211
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