Abstract
There are few products available on the market for badminton players to improve their abilities, and those that exist have not been updated in years. While clip-on sensors have been a staple in tennis, they haven’t been as widely used in badminton due to the lighter weight of rackets and the shuttle making it much harder to make lightweight devices with accurate measurements. From our research, even casual players have expressed interest in experimenting with their play to understand the varying impacts on performance, but don’t have an objective method of determining performance. Using the combination of accelerometers, gyroscopes, and a microphone sensor, this research was able to create a clip-on sensor device that barely impedes the player and provides accurate measurements of speed, acceleration, and force on successful hits. The data is transmitted using Bluetooth to a flutter mobile app that can be used to analyze data across sessions and over various time periods. A 3D-printed case was also designed to protect the electronics and securely clip onto the handle of a racket.
In the process of creating the device, it was discovered that the essential parts for the project would be subject to the newly implemented tariffs against products from China. Due to its importance and the lack of alternatives produced elsewhere, we had to pay the tariff and absorb the extra costs. This project is not alone, many projects and businesses based in the United States had to deal with increased costs due to tariffs. These tariffs can be traced back to tariffs first implemented by the first Trump Administration in 2019, which itself can be traced back to suspicions of espionage by the Chinese company Huawei. Understanding Huawei’s sanctions and how it has dealt with them can explain how China will deal with escalating US tariffs. The effectiveness of those sanctions can be directly correlated with the effectiveness of further tariffs on Chinese products, and this understanding can lead to better decisions being made with regards to trade. These decisions have led to higher prices for key electronics that provide a barrier to new innovations such as this technical project. Ethical Egoism and Realism were the key theories applied to this STS research, as many of the actors involved, such as nation-states, corporations, and politicians are primarily influenced by their own self-interest. Many of their actions are driven by a need for continued security and success and those needs will continue to drive their future actions. The research seeks to understand why the sanctions were levied and whether the sanctions had the intended effect on Huawei. Through document analysis of papers published by the Congressional Research Service and the House Select Committee of the CCP, it was seen that Huawei was sanctioned not due to any immediate security threat but rather due to the long-term threat of having the telecommunications industry dominated by China. US officials were also concerned about the large amount of Chinese state support that helps Huawei maintain its dominance. The sanctions however barely had an impact on Huawei, as it retained its market share in telecommunications through further investment by the Chinese government. US companies found different ways to dodge the sanctions and continue supplying Huawei and receive equipment from it.
This technical project addresses the lack of sports technology for amateur and casual badminton players to improve their skills at a low cost. While much time and effort has been spent developing technologies at the elite level of sports, not much has become accessible for developing players. The project has created a device that can be manufactured at a low cost and provide some metrics for players to make goals for themselves. However, projects such as these will struggle to be developed in the US with the increased costs brought by tariffs and other restrictions on Chinese technology. These restrictions are justified, as China’s actions will cause it to always be seen as an adversary by the US, and control of key technologies being in Chinese hands will continue to be seen as a security risk. However, Huawei’s story shows that sanctions and tariffs are not the answer, as companies will always find a way around such punitive measures. For longer term changes, the US needs to invest in critical industries like China to ensure it maintains some control, and this will also prevent US customers, such as my technical project, from paying the price for security.
