Researchers at TU Delft have developed an arrow that should be just as innovative for darts as the clap skate for ice skating. But the best players in the Netherlands are not (yet) eager to actually use the arrow.
Of binnen nu en twee jaar een darter op professioneel niveau met de nieuwe pijl gaat gooien? Michael van Gerwen is resoluut. “Nee, dat gaat niet gebeuren”, zegt de Brabander tijdens de presentatie van de nieuwe dartpijl op de faculteit Luchtvaart- en Ruimtevaarttechniek van de TU Delft. Daar werd bijna twee jaar gewerkt aan de pijl, die 50 procent preciezer zou moeten zijn.
“Het is heel leuk en innovatief, maar het voelde heel raar en onwennig om ermee te gooien”, vervolgt Van Gerwen. “Elke darter gooit anders. Als er ooit met deze pijl gegooid gaat worden, dan zal hij eerst helemaal moeten worden aangepast aan de voorkeuren van de darter.”
Raymond van Barneveld vult aan: “Ik denk dat het beter was geweest als we er langer mee mochten trainen. Dat we hier vandaag waren aangekomen en met de pijlen hadden gegooid, en dat we de pijlen daarna aan onze voorkeuren hadden laten aanpassen. Dan hadden we jullie kunnen vertellen of de pijlen een succes waren geweest.”
Volgens Van Barneveld is het daarom nog te vroeg om te zeggen of de pijlen daadwerkelijk baanbrekend zullen zijn. “Voor ons is het nu ook allemaal nog nieuw. We snappen dat er een hele hoop tijd en energie in zit. Maar toen ik hier vanmorgen aankwam, zag ik al dat dit pijlen met hele lange punten zijn. Maar ik kan helemaal niet gooien met pijlen waar lange punten op zitten. Die slingeren bij mij alle kanten op.”
‘Knew that the darts players would not be immediately enthusiastic’
Shortly before the ‘TOTO Dart Kings’ – besides Van Barneveld and Van Gerwen also Dirk van Duijvenbode, Danny Noppert and Vincent van der Voort – got the floor, they had thrown the so-called rocket arrows for the first time. The arrow has been tested by researchers for months. This is done with, among other things, a specially developed robot arm that can effortlessly throw the darts into the bull’s eye hundreds of times in a row.
Super slow motion videos show that the arrow, which looks like a rocket, flies through the air much tighter than the conventional arrow that the darts players normally use. The arrow has an extremely small shaft and the flight is made up of several wings, which start to rise halfway through the arrow. The look of the arrow is a lot more streamlined, which should give the darts player more control over his throw.
It is also exciting for the researchers what the darts players have to say when they have thrown their darts for the first time. Although the darts players are not immediately enthusiastic, Michiel van Nesselrooij, one of the inventors of the ‘Rocket Darts’, is satisfied with the initial reaction. “It would also have been crazy if one of the darts players had immediately said: this is the dart I’m going to use for the rest of my life,” he says.
“They have been throwing exactly the same material for years. They are so used to it that this is a big change. We also knew that. I think it is very nice that we are already entering this process with the darts players and that we can actually do something “We are going to change the things that didn’t go so well today. But our goal is to have an impact with this. It would be great if there are darts players who will throw this arrow at the upcoming World Cup.”
Van Nesselrooij cites the example of the clap skate. It had been invented for years, but was only really embraced by the skaters when Tonny de Jong started winning international competitions with it in 1996. “I hope that what took a long time there can be done faster here. It was then very difficult to let skaters ride competitions on it. We hope that we can now prevent that delay by talking to the darts players at a very early stage to go.”
Van Barneveld effortlessly throws 180 with new arrows
Once back in the faculty laboratory, Van Barneveld effortlessly throws one 180 score after the other with the new arrows. Although the five-time world champion cannot yet say whether the arrows will be a success, he is only too happy to continue to participate in the project.
“Because it is of course very interesting. Darts has never experienced anything like this. I also enjoy participating in new projects like this,” says Van Barneveld, while throwing another 180.
“It is also logical that I am a lot more positive than Michael (van Gerwen, ed.), Danny (Noppert, ed.) or Dirk (van Duijvenbode, ed.). I am the number thirty in the world, so I do everything to rise and eventually get back to that number one spot. Michael, Danny and Dirk are already in the top sixteen. They are on the biggest stages in the world. But Vincent (van der Voort, ed.) and I really want to go up. There is a lot more to gain for us.”
It remains to be seen whether the innovative darts actually hit the mark. The darts players will return to Delft in a few months to test the arrows again. Van Barneveld: “And if it turns out to be innovative, the arrow is still only part of the game. If you are always shaking on stage because of your nerves, these arrows will not suddenly make you throw 180. And that it’s just as well.”
2023-04-18 20:26:44
1681855059
#Darters #eager #clap #skate #arrows #Darts
