snowEdge app for iPhone and iPad

This application will rate your skiing/riding skills, track your runs, show your progress. It will monitor your speed, acceleration and air time. You can see your actual ski time and total distance. Based on accelerometer measurements it gives you your turn performance index. The higher the index, the better your turns are.


Why you need it

If you are one of those snow sports enthusiasts who would like to attach a number to their achievement on the slopes, track their progress, compare to friends, check out the SnowEdge app.


How does it work

The basic question we attempt to answer here is what constitutes good skiing/riding. Obviously, the answer is not universal and is a matter of personal preference. Common answers:

- go faster
- make dynamic turns
- catch that air

These are the aspects we attempt to capture and quantify in the first version of the SnowEdge app.

We strongly advise against trying to go with supersonic speed outside of a closed race course. Our personal preference (at least outside of trees and powder) lies with making nice dynamic turns. We designed a measure called Turn Acceleration Index (TAI) to track one’s progress in recreational skiing/riding. This measure is based on the lateral acceleration during the turn. Adding this acceleration to the gravity, we get full acceleration (g-force). Each TAI number is calculated taking into account your motion pattern in the last five seconds, which means two to four turns. In simple words, the higher the TAI is, the better.


How to use the app

Simply start the app and put the iPhone or iPod in you pocket. The screen will stay on, as necessary for continuous usage of accelerometer. Please do NOT lock the device pressing the button on top - this will disable accelerometer. This is it. Your runs will be automatically detected and saved in the memory. You can check the current statistics any time on the home screen without unlocking it. The best time to analyze details of the last few runs is while you sit on a slow chair lift (if its not too cold) or in front of a fireplace with a cup of tea a bit later. If you receive a message or a phone call, we recommend to restart SnowEdge app afterwards.


Battery saving tips

In our experience, using GPS is the biggest power drainer. Another important factor reducing battery capacity is cold. Acting together, these guys will deplete a full battery in a couple of hours. We like to use the app throughout the day, so we learned a few tricks. Some of these may be useful even without our app.

Keep the device in a warm inside pocket. Put a paper towel in the same pocket next to it. This may also help to keep it dry.

Reduce screen brightness!

Switch off GPS if you are not too interested in the speed tracking. All other aspects of the application will work fine without it. We recommend using speed tracking early in the morning on an empty run, especially if you are planning to go very fast. (This keeps innocent bystanders safer). After setting a record or two, turn the GPS off and enjoy more battery power.

Turn off WiFi and 3G


You can find more information at www.kofesmolot.com/iPhone/snowEdge