Sports brands constantly develop technological products designed to help improve the performance of athletes and reinvent the fan experience with the help of apps and wearables.
Last January, the CES technology fair served to confirm the unstoppable rise of wearable technologies. And within wearable, along with glasses and smartwatches, smart devices focused on improving the fitness experience also had a special role. Brands such as Sony, Intel, Garmin, and Razer, among others, presented new fitness trackers or announced they were involved in further development.
Technology analysts such as Canalys estimate that more than 17 million smart bands will be sold in the world this year, and the concern for physical exercise is largely to blame for these figures. But the introduction of new technologies such as those meant to help with sweating, go beyond fitness, reaching the world of professional sports.
In recent months we have seen brands begin to explore technologies aimed at improving the performance of athletes themselves and enhance the fan experience, making it more physical thanks to intelligent apps and clothing, or exploring technologies that promise to bring new points of view to the Follow up on massive sports like football. Here are 5 of those product ideas that warn of the new technological revolution about to shake the world of sports.
Virtual Reality
Virtual Reality or VR has come a long way. There used to be a time when no one would believe VR would take off but nowadays it’s part of many homes and industries and is now also making a splash in the sports and events industry. It’s not only a whole new way to experience gaming but also sports in general. Imagine being able to see a match from different angles as if you were in the middle of the stadium. When you’re cheering for a team and want it to win because you bet on it at luckystreet.com, feeling like you’re there, watching it and cheering while still in your living room, gives a great feeling and is the true revolution in Sports.
The ‘Brazucam’ by Adidas
At the beginning of April, the sports brand Adidas presented the ‘Brazucam‘ in society. It is a modified version of the official soccer ball of the 2014 World Cup Brazil that incorporates six small HD video cameras inside. The idea is that these cameras can give the viewer a vision of the action on the pitch from the perspective of the ball itself. The ball will be traveling around the world (Spain, Germany, England, Russia, Japan, USA, Mexico, etc.), being the protagonist of a series of videos that count with the participation of stars like Xavi Hernandez, Dani Alves, Cristian Tello, Manuel Neuer and David Villa and who are being publicized as a weekly clip on the Adidas YouTube channel.
The invention of ‘Brazucam’ does not stop being a promotional brawl of the brand to advertise its ball, but the idea gives clues as to where the shots could go in the football retransmissions of the future.
The smart basketball
The Wilson brand, in collaboration with the Finnish technology company SportIQ, has developed an intelligent basketball that incorporates sensors inside. In combination with an app, these sensors allow you to collect a series of data about the player’s performance. The ultimate idea is to help the athlete to improve their game, by offering information on percentages of hits, times of execution of the throws or statistics on their effectiveness from different areas of the field. The brand plans to launch the ball next winter, and according to those responsible for its digital department, they are considering developing similar technologies for products of other sports.
Moov Personal Virtual Trainer
Moov is a wearable that offers the user a constant flow of data focused on improving their sports performance in real time. The device comes after a decade of research by institutions such as Harvard, Stanford, professional athletes and coaches and even US Army researchers, and today Moov has support for five activities: race, cycling, swimming, cardio boxing, and weightlifting. Moov can measure various variables such as the race pace, the frequency of hitting or the pedaling speed, depending on where in the body the device is placed. Each sport has its own dedicated app, currently only for iOS devices, although the corresponding versions for Android systems are being developed.
The ‘Alert T-Shirt’ from WE: eX
Wearable Experiments (We: eX) is defined as a social technology company focused on the development of wearables. They describe their mission as an activity aimed at fusing fashion and technology with a functional design, applying creative ideas to solving problems to help us have a better quality of life. One of their inventions is the ‘Alert Shirt’, a technological shirt developed in collaboration with Foxtel and CHE Proximity and aimed at fans of Australian football. The idea is that the fans can physically experience the action that takes place on the pitch. Via Bluetooth, the Alert Shirt app transmits a series of data taken in real time to the electronic components inserted in the shirt, which convert that data into impulses that seek to reproduce the sensations experienced by players in the field.
