The Technology partnership is giving some of Britain’s top athletes and their coaches access to our expertise and technology innovations normally reserved for the defence and security sector.

Our expertise are channelled directly into the areas of sports development where it is needed the most, by pulling on the expertise of our 18,000 UK-based engineers to help solve structural and mechanical engineering, aerodynamics, hydrodynamics, mathematical modeling, materials science and simulation challenges.

Under the Technology Partnership with UK Sport, we have helped around 20 elite sports teams and 140 individual athletes and their coaches, including:

The Technology Partnership’s most high profile success has been the creation of Arthur, the bob skeleton that propelled Amy Williams to Britain’s first individual gold medal win at the 2010 Winter Olympics in three decades. We worked in collaboration with Sheffield Hallam and Southampton Universities to crack the problem of customizing the bob skeleton for Amy and other skeleton athletes.

We have also used predictive modeling software originally designed for future Unmanned Air Vehicles to help the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) to improve the accuracy of weather pattern forecasting in Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour, the location for Olympic sailing competitions.

At the Manchester Velodrome, a sophisticated laser-timing system has been installed to monitor the performance of cyclists in training. The technology, derived from a battlefield identification system helps to monitor the performance of up to 30 cyclists training simultaneously, providing each athlete with individual split times with millisecond accuracy by reading a personalised tag attached to each bike.

Read more about our Cycling Laser Timing System

Our scientists and engineers have been applying defence and security technology to help the British Modern Pentathlon team to evaluate their high-tech laser pistols, which were introduced at the beginning of the 2011 season, replacing traditional air pistols.

The team created a mobile laser pistol evaluation device called ‘ULTeMo’, which athletes can take to competitions, to help with last minute checks and to give athletes 100% confidence in the new technology. To use this system athletes simply align the pistol in the device and fire a single shot. The ULTeMo device immediately gives an indication how well the laser is performing, measuring the strength of the laser pulse.

Read more about ULTeMo

We have been applying some of the same techniques and principles used to develop fighter jets and military tanks to help give the GB Taekwondo team a marginal gain in competition.

A new system introduced into Taekwondo just a few years ago means fighters wear special electronic socks that deliver a coded signal when they strike sensors on the opponent’s vest. We have been testing the electronic scoring vest using sophisticated equipment, usually used to test composite materials’ resistance to impact. This has allowed the GB Taekwondo team to adjust their training style to maximise methods needed to score on the vest.

Read more about our work with GB Taekwondo

With major medal competitions in sight, our scientists and engineers have been busy working on a number of secret projects with the Equestrian and Fencing teams and are set to launch a new prototype of the elite racing wheelchair this spring. The new wheelchair will be used in track and long distance events to shave precious tenths of seconds off podium winning times with a stronger, lighter and more aerodynamic design.

Kelvin Davies, BAE Systems Project Manager for the Technology Partnership, said: “Our tie up with UK Sport is a very exciting and innovative project, which allows us to share some of our defence and security technology and expertise to benefit our sporting heroes and demonstrates just how important engineering is in every aspect of day-today life.”