We are now almost half-way through twenty nineteen and we have come to our May edition of #top5sportstechnews. We found a couple of really cool innovations that border between sports and health. A feature launch by a GPS company that makes athlete monitoring far more convenient. Then we hear about how GPS sensors are being used in cricket to not only provide value to athletes but also to the spectators watching at home. Lastly, there is a great story of how artificial intelligence was used to raise the game of an English grassroots football club. It didn’t quite take them to the play-offs but it did have a positive impact. We will let you read more of the top 5 below.
Under Armour Uses Infrared Tech In Fabric
When Under Armour started out, it was about moisture wicking synthetic fabric that kept athletes dry during their training. Since then, they have dabbled in various innovations, running Future Shows and allowing people to submit ideas. They even had a go at designing suits to improve aerodynamics of speed skaters. This time, they have gone back to the fabric. Under Armour partnered with Celliant, licensing their patented infrared technology to develop a new range of recovery garment called Rush. The specially designed fabric fibers are able to absorb and re-emit the visible and infrared electromagnetic light energy emitted by the body. It ultimately improves blood circulation and increases tissue oxygenation. Thus improving recovery. You can read more about their launch here: Under Armour Debuts New Training Line With Infrared Technology or check out the video below:
Gatorade Sweat Sensors Customises Your Rehydration
Since the introduction of specialised sports drinks like Gatorade there has been much debate surrounding their necessity for rehydration. During high intense workouts that stretch longer than 60 minutes sports drinks are generally favoured over water for their ability to rapidly replenish electrolytes and provide an easily digestible source of carbohydrates. But there still is the pressing question of how much is enough? Gatorade has decided to solve the problem by finding out the exact amount of fluid and nutrients that are lost from an athlete during exercise. They are doing this by measuring perspiration via sticking a sweat sensor/patch on the athlete while they exercise. The sensor works by measuring how much sweat and sodium is lost which then acts as a guide to indicate how much fluid should be replenished. The sensors measurement/profile links in well with the companies Gx line of customised sports drinks which allows athletes to manipulate the formula of the drink to meet their individual requirements. Find out more about Gatorade’s grand plan here: Inside the Lab Where Gatorade Is Transforming Itself Into a Tech Company
Titan’s New App Tracks Athletes’ Readiness & RPE
The use of GPS sensors for athlete tracking has become more commonplace across team sports. However, historically due to high costs GPS use has been confined to elite and/or professional level athletes. Now due to more affordable products on the market the technology has become more accessible to semi-professional and grassroot clubs. Titan Sensor is one of the companies which has capitalised on this opportunity by providing high-end features and hardware at an affordable price. They have now taken this a step further through their recently launched athlete app for existing customers. The app simplifies and streamlines athletes’ ability to take pre-session (readiness) survey and post-session RPE (rating of perceived exertion). The survey data that is completed by the individual athletes are then synced into the cloud and merged with GPS and external load measurements. Find out more on their website: link.
STATSports & Indian Cricket Team Partner up for ICC World Cup
For a while now cricket has been at the forefront of enabling technology to unanimously better the game. Long before world football implemented VAR (Video Assistant Referee) and Goal-Line Technology, cricket has been using state-of-the-art ball tracking systems from Hawk-Eye and infrared imaging from Hot Spot in improving the accuracy of match officials decisions and enhancing fan engagement. With the ICC (International Cricket Council) World Cup in England now in full swing, one of the world’s most popular sporting organisations, the Indian Cricket Team wants to bring their loyal fans even closer to the action. Through a partnership with STATSports, spectators at home watching the games can now view and compare numerous physical outputs of their favourite players like mega star Virat Kohli including distance covered and running speed. This is made possible via GPS sensors worn under the players jerseys akin to some of STATSports major clients, Manchester United and recent UEFA Champions League winners Liverpool FC. This follows in the footsteps of the Australian Cricket Team and their partnership with GPS manufacturer Catapult Sports who have also recently implemented a similar system to enhance the broadcasting experience for viewers through their Gatorade Tracker. Read more in this article: INDIAN NATIONAL CRICKET TEAM SIGN WITH STATSPORTS AHEAD OF WORLD CUP
Using IBM Watson to Improve Football Performance
When you think of AI improving individual and team performance it is unlikely you would associate it with a semi-professional team in the 7th tier of English Football. Led by Master Inventor Joe Pavitt, IBM Watson provided Leatherhead FC with in-depth match analysis and opposition scouting in order to assist the team in gaining a competitive edge. This was achieved through IBM Watson utilising video footage of games, match reports and social media feeds providing overviews on key areas such as player performances and tactics. The interface for the coaching staff to seek out these findings was centered around natural conversation in where video footage and statistics of specific game events such as shots on target could be displayed simply by asking Watson for them. Perhaps the area coaching staff saw most benefit in was tactical decisions being based on objective information rather than on emotions which facilitated players to be more understanding of feedback on their performances. Despite the revolutionary implementation of AI, Leatherhead FC unfortunately finished 8th in the Bostik League Premier Division missing out on the playoffs and thus promotion. There’s a full film story on the IBM site here: “Can AI help Leatherhead FC raise their game?“, or check out the clip below:
And that is our top five sports tech news for May 2019. If you would like more information about any of the above, feel free to contact us or leave a comment below. If you like what you read, do subscribe to our blog/newsletter here: link. With that, thanks for reading!
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