Part 5: How do you combine technology and passion to realize your vision?

In part four of our Surf Loch series, How do you expand the geographic limitations of surfing? we discussed how Surf Loch is meeting the needs of surfers of all skill levels and bringing the feel of the ocean wave to them. Now, we’ll discuss how today’s technology will help bring the vision of Surf Loch to a reality for those who may never have stepped foot into the ocean.

Surf Loch’s wave pools will expand interest and enthusiasm to areas thousands of miles from any ocean wave and open up competitive surfing to countless competitors as competitive events won’t be restricted to ocean waves.

Until now, three-day surfing contests in Hawaii take place over the course of two weeks because no one can control the ocean or the weather. Therefore, the contest has to wait until the ideal conditions naturally occur within the allotted time period to have a three-day event.

Surf Loch gives wave pools and contests an opportunity to have an event that can be scheduled – no matter the weather conditions. They can control the environment, control the waves, ensure the audience can view the competition and it can broadcast live on television at its designated scheduled time slot and not an edited version. This also ensures an equal opportunity for every surfer. This level of control opens up a whole new arena and platform for surfing events globally and creates the consistent conditions for setting benchmarks for performance and scoring.

The technology and capabilities will take this sport to a much bigger scale.

Seth Moniz, who is considered one of the best aerialists in the world and was the first person to perform a backflip in a wave pool. Moniz says, “Since I got to get the same wave over and over, it was like practicing on skateboard ramp. I got to practice a backflip and it took me eight tries to do it — we don’t get that in the ocean. It was just perfect to practice in the pool and I can relate that now back in the ocean.”

By embracing digital transformation, Surf Loch is realizing its vision to reshape the surfing industry. The team used the fundamentals of the Siemens Xcelerator and Digital Enterprise portfolio to design, simulate and optimize their surf wave technology. This included software such as NX, Simcenter, Teamcenter and Mindsphere, as well as automation such as TIA Portal or Sinamics controllers.

According to Lochtefeld, “The most rewarding thing after all efforts that Surf Loch has done and the technology that we have developed, is when the parents tell me, ‘You changed our kid’s life. They were kind of lost before they started surfing your waves. Being able to progress in their world and offering the experience that allowed them to get better and have an aspiration as to something to improve, it’s gotten them back on track.”

How is Surf Loch managing to bring surfing to the masses? It’s a combination of passion and technology. For Tom Lochtefeld and the team, Siemens provides the ability to blur the boundaries of the real and digital worlds, and offers all the technologies to today to build surfing waves of tomorrow.

Once upon a time, Lochtefeld dreamt of bringing surfing to everyone. Now, it’s becoming a reality.

This concludes our blog series on Surf Loch. Read the previous blogs in this series and share: 

• The vision to revolutionize the surfing industry – a five-part series 
• Part 1: How do you create a surfer’s perfect wave? 
• Part 2: How do you create a digital twin of an ocean wave? 
• Part 3: How do you customize waves for both first time riders and pro surfers? 
• Part 4: How do you expand the geographic limitations of surfing?

For more information on the Siemens and Surf Loch collaboration, click here.

How can Xcelerator help your company embrace digital transformation? Click here to learn more.