Ingmar Jungnickel on AiRO and Scalable Aerodynamic Testing

About this episode

Ingmar Jungnickel discusses AiRO, a new CFD-based aero analysis tool for bike fitters and coaches, highlighting its advantages over traditional testing methods.

Sports aerodynamicist Ingmar Jungnickel joins the show to discuss AiRO, a new CFD-based aero analysis tool built for bike fitters and coaches. He outlines why traditional wind-tunnel and field-testing approaches struggle with cost, complexity, and repeatability, and explains how recent advances in computing and AI now make high-fidelity CFD practical at the fit-studio level. The discussion highlights AiRO's emphasis on breadth of exploration—rapidly testing wide parameter ranges—rather than pursuing ever-higher fidelity in isolated conditions. Key Points * Ingmar's background spans wind-tunnel work, velodrome testing, CFD development, and elite projects with Specialized, the German Cycling Federation, and U.S. Speed Skating. * Conventional aero tools—wind tunnels, track testing, field testing, PIV, and ultrasonic tomography—are limited by scalability, environmental control, rider repeatability, and cost. * AiRO's core components include: a parametric human model fitted from simple photographs and basic anthropometrics, a digital-twin rider posture controlled through ~18 intuitive sliders, fast, cloud-based CFD simulations. * AiRO's strategic focus is breadth over depth: enabling…

People in this episode

Hosts: Andrew Buckrell, Michael Liberzon

Guest: Ingmar Jungnickel

Topics covered

• aerodynamics
• CFD
• bike fitting
• sports technology
• AI in sports

Keywords

• aerodynamic testing
• CFD
• bike fitters
• wind tunnel
• AI

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Specialized, German Cycling Federation, U.S. Speed Skating

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