Professional cross-country skier turns idea into a real life product during final bachelor project
Jonas Thor Olsen has combined his life as a professional cross-country skier with part-time studies at DTU and in December 2007 he was awarded a bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering – leaving university with some very special luggage.
Skier’s Summer Blues
Skiers have a real challenge on their hands when training off-season. No exercise routine makes them to use their muscles as they do when skiing, making it difficult to keep the right body tone throughout the summer.
But all this may now be a thing of the past. Being an engineering student this issue inspired Jonas Thor Olsen and ideas started forming in his mind.
“Besides the problem of summer training, elite skiers also need a way to measure and compare form. The snow, tracks, weather and other factors varies greatly and this affects each performance. I wanted to find a way for skiers to compare performances with those of others, who are not necessarily in the same place at the same time”, says Jonas Thor Olsen.
In the Right Spot
Starting work on his bachelor project in June 2007, Jonas jumped at the chance to develop his own brainchild. “I had an idea and I was able to turn it into a product. After less than six months I had a working prototype. Being located at the Department of Mechanical Engineering I was in a very privileged situation. I was given the opportunity to collaborate with highly skilled experts and I had access to special facilities and equipment. If you ask me, this could only happen at DTU”, says Jonas.
Ditch the Spare Tire
Jonas started out wanting to create fitness equipment for top athletes, but he soon realized that his concept would also benefit the average person. His invention provides a full body work-out, burning fat all over the body. This is a revolutionising concept as no other equipment allows you to burn upper-body fat while doing cardiovascular exercise.
As part of the project Jonas performed user surveys and the equipment was tested by medical professionals, top athletes as well as the man in the street. The results of the surveys were encouraging. The equipment was found to be safe, fun and easy to use.
Developing a new product meant working with materials, dimensioning, physiology and design. “Creating a good design was a challenge. There’s no unequivocal solution. You can’t measure design as you measure for example the strength of materials. It’s a matter of judgment and living up to peoples expectations of what fitness equipment looks like”, says the young entrepreneur.
Jonas Thor Olsen hopes the product will hit the shelves in 2008.