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To prepare for the Paralympic Games in Rio, the UK Paralympics Association tasked BAE with creating the world’s first computerised indoor trainer for British wheelchair athletes.

“It’s about trying to make sure that we knew what the athletes wanted and what the coach wanted. We do work with the athletes because we always want to make sure that they have an input,” Thomas Napper, graduate engineer at BAE Systems told WIRED.

“They wanted us to come up with a trainer that could simulate a wide range of races, track conditions like rain and sun, and road races,” continued Napper. “They wanted a trainer to be effective for all types of racing and all types of wheelchairs to fit each athlete’s preference, taking all these different variables: the size, height and speed and making sure it was available for all of the athletes.”

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One of the company’s teams in Bristol created a near-universal frame that, when combined with a turbo trainer, can replicate any road condition. A computer screen at the front displays GoPro footage of a selected course.

“Getting the frame, getting the turbo trainers, getting the computer system all linked together, that was the best thing that we did that hadn’t ever really been done before. And the fact it was adaptable for all types of wheelchair,” added Napper.

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The indoor trainer was delivered last year and has been used extensively by the Paralympians for their indoor training.

BAE uses VR and 3D visualisation techniques to familiarise athletes with tracks ahead of the games

BAE Systems

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BAE wants to build on this by incorporating VR technology and 3D visualisations to simulate outdoor training conditions. Coaches will go to tracks with GoPro cameras fixed to their chests and capture footage from the actual venue that BAE will then turn into videos that can be accessed through YouTube.

“In the future athletes will have something like this in their garage, with all the details of a track. It would mean they could completely train for a race without leaving their house,” said Napper. “We’ll have to see how it works in Rio. The fact it can be used in so many different ways makes it so interesting.”

As part of the partnership, British wheelchair athletes have also been using wind tunnels, supplied by BAE Systems, to find the most aerodynamic seating positions to race in.

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“We put Shelly Woods into the wind tunnel in Preston and showed her that if she changed her position by ten degrees forward, she would be able to get an increase of 20 per cent,” said Napper.

Engineers also analysed the interaction between the athletes’ movements and their wheels to find a more effective way of racing. The result led to BAE developing 'rounder wheels' to help athletes impart maximum force as they race.

These new wheels are three times stiffer than previous designs as the rigidity reduces a force known as 'toe-in' - where the wheel bends inwards - caused by the athletes' 'punching' motion on their push stroke. This increased lateral stiffness means the new wheels no longer bend inwards, reducing friction between them and the track, which improves speed and acceleration.

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And it doesn’t stop when the Paralympics ends on September 18. “We’re already getting ready for Tokyo," said Napper. "The six projects we prepared for Rio went successfully so we’re already looking ahead to 2020 and the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in 2018.”

The Paralympics isn't the only place where engineering is being used to help push athletes to their limits though. Robert Riener, an academic at ETH University in Zurich who develops sensory-motor technology to help rehabilitate the disabled, has created the Cybathlon.

A biannual competition in Switzerland, it pits 80 teams from around the globe who develop assistive technologies, such as tests of powered exoskeletons, against one another in a series of rigorous athletic challenges.