
Adventures in Curling - jsnell
http://www.chrisfenton.com/2019/07/01/lightly-documented-projects-part-1-adventures-in-curling/
======
fentonc
The curling broom was definitely one of the hardest projects I've ever worked
on. The electronics are pretty trivial, but my fabrication skills just weren't
up to the challenge - serious curlers can apply a crazy amount of force to the
head of a broom when they're playing.

------
xcgeeked
My first curling hack was to attach a speedometer to a tiny RC monster truck
wheel and mount both on the end of the broom. When playing as a sweeper, I
would slide along and touch the wheel to the ice as the thrower released the
rock to get an accurate speed reading of the rock. Especially during draw
weight shots where you're trying to hit the button, this aided the call as to
whether to sweep or not. The idea may have been good, but the nuances of
curling and the fact the ice is constantly changing speed throughout the game
made the data not very useful. In the end, a well trained 'eye' was just as
accurate and much quicker to make the call.

------
lewilewilewi
If you produce a good one, you can sell them for $3000 (probably Canadian
Dollars) a pop:
[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/06/sports/olympics/curling-s...](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/06/sports/olympics/curling-
smart-broom.html)

------
reportgunner
_> This has the interesting effect of decreasing the friction between the
stone and the ice, causing it to both decelerate and rotate more slowly_

Decreasing friction decreases speed ? What is this sorcery ?

~~~
floil
Read it as "both decelerate more slowly and rotate more slowly" and it's an
accurate description of what happens when you sweep in front of a curling
stone.

~~~
reportgunner
I see now, what an odd way to say it.

------
rudiv
Was hoping for more usage of `curl`.

~~~
alex-ant
same here

