Bluetooth Ski Poles

Are you a skier? Do you love to listen to music? If your anything like me, the answer is a big yes. For me, the two go hand in hand, however the experience can often be less than convenient. Usually requiring one to take off their gloves, unzip their jacket, and fiddle around with a touch screen in an often very cold environment.

The above image is a prototype design. Given the support, time, and materials; it is my true vision for the product.

This instructable is for a pair of bluetooth ski poles that will connect to your music device and let the user control their music. This project serves more as a demonstration than a viable prototype.

• BBC micro:bit
• micro:bit IOS app
• 2 AAA Batteries
• Battery Box
• Adhesive Velcro strips

Here's a link to the MakeCode website I am referring to. Then, start a new project. You need a special extension for this project. Click advanced, go to extensions, and get the devices extension.

Transfer it to your microbit, open up your microbit app, follow the pairing instructions and pair it to your phone. Once completed, the microbit can control your music. Click B to go to the previous song, A to go to the next, and both A and B to play/pause. Now let's attach it to a ski pole.

Attach both the microbit and battery box to the ski pole and voilà! I actually went on a hike with it and found it to be fun to use. It obviously isn't pretty, but it was important to me that the hardware had no effect on the performance of the pole, and this simple design allowed for that.

The above image shows a poll I did asking people if they would use this technology if it were available. As you can see, out of 65 total votes, about 90% of people would use the technology. Some of the people who voted no did clarify they would if they were skiers.

If I had access to a computer smaller than a microbit and some other wiring materials, I would have ideally figured out a way to unobtrusively work it into the handle. However, due to the current covid-19 circumstances I didn't really have the time or the resources. This basic prototype really serves as a fun demo of an idea that if executed well, would be very useful and if the poll above is any indication could even be a successful new technology through out the skiing community.