Our BioRow Catch Training System for the ergometer was developed in 2015, upgraded with a trunk sensor in 2017, and with a handle force sensor in 2018. Now, immediate feedback on Catch and Rowing Style Factors is available on the water with our new BioRow Glance system for rowing boats.

The system is supplied in a case and consists of:

• Electronic Master unit;
• Instrumented oarlocks;
• Seat sensors;
• Tablet PCs with on-boat mount.

The BioRow master unit is the heart of the system: it powers all sensors with its Li-ion battery, collects and logs the data on an internal memory card, measures the boat speed (with GPS or impeller), 3D boat accelerations and 3D rotations, then, sends all data through Wi-Fi to a tablet PC.

Instrumented oarlocks are connected to the Master unit with cables, and measure force applied by an oar and its rotation in a horizontal plane. Two versions of the oarlocks are available for both sweep and scull oars:

• The standard version with one normal force;
• 2D version measures normal and axial forces.

The seat sensor is connected to it with a string and measures its movement, which is an important indicator of rowing technique.

The tablet PC is mounted in a flexible cradle in a boat and receives data though a local Wi-Fi network hosted by the Master unit. The tablet runs BioRowTel software and gives immediate feedback on the most important indicators of rowing technique.

The information could be displayed on two screens simultaneously, which allows for use in a single/pair/double, or by the coach and athlete simultaneously.

Three main types of displays are available, which should be familiar for our users of the erg system:

1. “Technique” display shows the main indicators of rowing technique (Catch and Rowing Style Factors), selected curves (force, seat and handle velocities), stroke rate and boat speed.
2.  “Power” display indicates only the basic rowing numbers for the last stroke and average for the current piece: the stroke rate, rowing speed, stroke length, average force, work per stroke and rowing power.

1. Combined display shows all the information above: numbers for quantitative feedback and curves for qualitative feedback.

The BioRow Glance system could be extended with the following options:

• With BioRow Slave extension units the system can work in any boat type. The Slave units are connected in a chain to the Master unit and each of them can receive data from two oarlocks, so one Slave is required for a four or double (two oarlocks are still connected to the Master unit), three Slaves are needed for an eight or quad.
• Trunk sensor that could be mounted on a mast and measure the movement of the rower’s shoulders, which allows the system to determine the important Finish Factor value and detect detailed contribution of trunk and arms into upper body power.

Technical specifications:

System mass                                        1 kg;

Battery life                                           8 hours;

Wi-Fi range                                         up to 100m.

Please contact us on valery@biorow.com for more information.

BioRow Glance screen at 20 spm