Future archery technology

[greydog]

I thought I'd start a thread about the future of archery technology. I've seen a few threads like this before, so this may ironically be old ground, but technology is changing at such a pace these days that by the end of this sentence I will no longer be able to get parts for the obsolete computer I'm using to type it
So what far out ideas do people have for bows, arrows and general accessories that we (or certainly me as a compounder) like to obsess over This also assumes that the fita rule of not sticking anything containing a battery to your bow does not exist, especially as it's a stupid rule and the only thing stopping me from attaching a set of fog lamps to mine for some night shooting practice
Risers We've got aluminium with carbon grafted on, and pure carbon risers but what about a pure carbon risers wrapped in an aluminium or titanium exoskeleton, like a framework. Stong enough to bolt everything to but still with the light weight and vibration dampening of carbon. Some sort of honeycomb foam material inside an aluminium sheath, would this have similar properties ?
How about exotic alloys that defy gravity, so risers as light as 1lb or less could be made, then you could supertune the mass by adding the weight in specific areas up to the weight your happy with.
Grips Shoot off the riser or have a custom Shrewd or Loesch grip, everyone has a preference. Memory plastics that can be 'programmed' to remember the shape of your hand, or even true floating grips that are suspended by powerfull magnets, might feel a bit weird and your bowsling would definately come in handy
Limbs What materials haven't been tried ? short of jam and sellotape most materials on the market have been used at one time or another to produce the right balance of characteristics needed. Are there new materials being developed by NASA or the military that might find their way into future limb technology? Could we see chameleon limbs that change colour, limbs that bleed off excess kinetic energy as light (not good for hunting) or heat, leaving little or no shock to be transferred to the riser. For recurves maybe limbs that prgressively flex in stages, so they get smoother the closer you get to anchor ? Would we ever see single limb bows? I've seen a few that have tried, but I imagine they'd need a radically different riser design to be truely effective.
Cams They seem to be getting faster all the time, but how long before the need for speed goes beyond current cam design? What would have to change to get an 'off the shelf' bow to reach speeds of 400fps with the correct weight arrow (though clearly the whole bow design would need to be looked at) .....or even 500fps, or more. Sure, you could just by a gun, but where's the fun in that. Maybe some sort of gearing system built into the cam/axle area, so as you draw up it works through the modules smootly. A cam that uses elastomer or fluid to store some of the excess energy generated by the previous shot, it would then use it to help when you drew the bow back, feeding it back into the limbs......like those springs they invented for big trucks that stored some of the breaking energy, then released it when the driver accelerated to help reduce petrol use........an Australian invention I think ?
Strings and Stabilisers Not sure how much further string design can go, the materials available are very stable and strong, I guess they could go lighter, maybe even self healing strings ? if it's getting a little fuzzy, just rub on some special biowax and hey presto For stabilisers there's always the gyroscope or coils in magnetic fluid, so your bow sit nice and level, of course if you set them up wrong, you'd have difficulty pointing it up or down slopes
Arrows Yep, I believe there will be improvements on the much worshipped X10 Something like memory plastic fletchings that are smooth against the shaft until they are shot, then they spring out as the arrow leaves the bow, only to lie down on the shaft on impact with the target........no more wrecked fletchings. Arrows that don't even need fletching, special channels down the length of the shaft that use surface drag to create spin, of course, cleaning the straw off them after every end might get a bit tedious Will bow speeds and cam design get to the point where hollow carbon would need to be augmented with some sort of honeycomb foam or similar material, or could we even see solid arrows similar to those used by flight archers?
Other stuff Thought activated release aids, that would be a kill or cure solution to target panic Scopes that could change their lens shape to adapt to different peoples eyesight, a 3rd axis system that sets itself up ! Target faces projected onto bosses (has this been tried already?) and a laser scoring system that works out exact arrow placement, no more trying to get your head in amongst a dozen arrow shafts to see if it's cut the line
Longbows Hmmmm, some sort of hybrid tree, genetically modified to have perfect grain and no knots It could also produce it's own bowstrings like fruit

[geoffretired]

Wow, that's some imagination you have there. When do you intend to put them into production? Can I place an order?
Seriously, I found that very interesting. Thinking like that is what got us way from the longbow(no offence)
There was a bit I didn't understand. TARGET PANIC What exactly is that?
It can't be the feeling the boss has when it sees archers facing it, bows in hand?????
Thanks
Geoff

[GeoffT]

Greydog....Have you been drinking?

[cecile]

More than a couple of good ideas !!

[Adam]

Greydog, I'm apalled. I think you need to get out more.

Adam

[geoffretired]

So, What is target panic, anybody?
Geoff

[whisky]

I know you have one messed up mind but you really have surpassed yourself this time Quite clearly TV isn't captivating enough at present?

With arrows I'm always surprised that there hasn't been much development since the X10's when you think that they were designed so long ago. How about better manufacturing tolerances so that you could have a set within 1 grain of each other without all that faffing about. And some sort of additive to the carbon so it doesn't wear during a season. Then a finish which means they're easy to pull out of the boss but not so slippy that they drive in further? Carbon fletchings so they dont damage when they clatter each other.

Self healing computer controlled straw bosses - sort of a fusion between the traditional with the modern. The boss recognizes your arrows and scores them for you so when it's piddling down at a FITA (as it always does) the score sheet doesn't get messed up and theres no arguing over line cutters and maths.

How about Hoyt designing a new bow rather than just rebadging what they've got to make people change each year?

Sorry my head hurts now..... Nurse!!

[greydog]

Heh, yeah I need to get out more, there's just nothing interesting on TV anymore, and I've been told to decommission my doomsday devices Seriously though, I'm sure someone out there has an idea for something that might seem a bit weird now, but in a few years will be commonplace on the shooting line.

Target panic, that's when you get to the shooting line and realise you've left your quiver in the club house

[Tom]

I think the next 'major' development in arrow technology will be the use of carbon nanotubes in place of carbon fibre. But I can't see it happening anytime soon.

Having said that Easton are using nanotubes in some of their bike products...

[Max]

Originally Posted by whisky

Self healing computer controlled straw bosses - sort of a fusion between the traditional with the modern. The boss recognizes your arrows and scores them for you so when it's piddling down at a FITA (as it always does) the score sheet doesn't get messed up and theres no arguing over line cutters and maths.

Nice one - self scoring bosses! We might get bosses made out of plastics that behave like non-Newtonian liquids - highly resitant to direct shock impact, but allowing the arrow to be pulled gently out with little effort.

There is bound to be a technological backlash at some point though - a bit like Formula 1 is experiencing - how to keep the sport interesting?. When perfect scores begin to appear and multiply due to leaps in technology, where do we go then? Do we make the rounds harder, or do we limit the technology in some way? We already have a maximum weight limit for compounds in target, where do you think the next restrictions (if any) might start to bite?