Skateboards have been used as a means of transportation and extreme sport participation for decades. The amount of data available for the average velocity at which skateboards travel is very limited. Skateboards tend to be used more for performing tricks in metropolitan areas and skate parks however the use of skateboards as a source of transportation is also relatively common. Longboards tend to be used in the opposite fashion when compared to skateboards; they are used much more frequently for commuting as compared to performing tricks. Longboards are also used for downhill, high speed applications but this will not be researched as part of this study. It is not well documented as to the average velocity skateboards or longboards travel at during a person’s attempt to travel from one location to another, also known as commuting. Also, there is not an abundance of documentation available for the average velocity of skateboards during the origination of a trick.  Therefore, this study was tasked with providing velocity data for skateboards and longboards traveling in a commuting and trick origination fashion.  Observational data will be collected from varying locations.  Locations, which will be analyzed as part of this study will include, but are not limited to skate parks, university campuses, and metropolitan areas. Velocity data for commuters and trick origination will be acquired through the use of a handheld radar gun. A tripod mounted video camera will be used to help identify gender of the user, sample size, and type of board, either skateboard or longboard. This study will provide separate data for male and female users. If, for instance, the velocity data is needed for a male that is longboard commuting that information will be found in the longboard section under the male commuter subsection part of the study.  A user travelling through a metropolitan area, university campus or traveling to or from a skate park will be considered a commuter. Data for trick origination will be procured from inside a skate park. Velocity data recorded for the trick origination group will be prior to the user performing a trick or stunt. The data that will be presented in this study will be beneficial to a vast audience including, but not limited to; traffic safety, accident reconstruction, skateboard design, bearing design and useful life, and wheel design and useful life.  The data collected as part of this study will be of the local population, the use of volunteers is not currently being deemed as necessary. This will be an observational study only; no personal identification or biometric data will be collected.


Naturalistic Male Skateboard User Speed Study

Division / Sponsors: 
Aerospace, Bioengineering, Applied Mechanics, Design Engineering Division, Advanced Energy Systems, Manufacturing Engineering Division, Noise Control and Acoustics, Nondestructive Evaluation, Diagnosis, and Prognosis (NDPD), Nuclear Engineering Division, Process Industries Division, Fluids Engineering, Heat Transfer, Materials, Microelectromechanical Systems, Safety Engineering and Risk Analysis, Computers & Information in Engineering


Paper Proceedings: https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/IMECE/IMECE2020/volume/84478

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