Internet of Things: Sport becomes Tech for safety and performance

It is in the Sport Industry 4.0 that the evolution of the IoT finds its most exciting solutions. The Internet of Things is constantly changing, constantly growing, and its arrival is timelier than ever, as sports organizations and clubs are exploring devices, online and portable, both during games and in training - for athletes - both in sports facilities for the fan experience. The applications are many and it would be difficult to list them all. Among the most fascinating, for sure:

• the sensors in the athletes' helmets to measure the impact in the event of an accident.
• shoulder pads with special sensors to measure the player's performance on the pitch.
• the cameras around the perimeter to monitor and analyse the movements of the players.
• adhesive sensors on athletes' skin to measure physiological data and hydration levels.
• the goal-line technology with the inclusion of sensors on the soccer ball and under the turf.
• the high-tech tools whose fabric detects, and analyses, the right muscle movement.
• the mini cameras on the athlete's helmet or on the cars/motorcycles to capture unique views of the game.

Most sports are considered fun, but some are risky for athletes. The Internet of Things makes it possible to find solutions that can help protect their health and, in some cases, their very life. A player who is hit or falls, for example, and has a sensor in his helmet - which measures the impact and transfers information to the coach and medical team - allows you to immediately understand if he is safe to continue playing. Recently, for another reason, the FIA asked some Formula 1 drivers to experiment with biometric gloves able to monitor their heart rate and the amount of oxygen in the blood: in the event of an accident, the sensors inserted in these gloves can communicate physical data and vital parameters to the medical car and ambulance, in order to plan the rescue intervention and removal from the passenger compartment.

The NBA basketball matches, another example, using wearable devices to measure the acceleration, deceleration, and especially the loads and the jump intervals. All this makes it possible to detect injuries, even minor ones, which cannot be found with a simple medical examination. The smallest variations in loads and jump heights, in fact, can indicate an imbalance, caused by a potential injury, old or new. A theme that is also deeply felt in rugby - where both the strength and the inclination of impacts on the head are recorded - and in American football., where helmets with integrated technology are worn to collect biomechanical data on brain injuries with which to create customized rehabilitation programs.

But the boundaries of technology are mobile, they always move a little further, to the point of looking into the future and - in a sense - anticipating it. Recently, researchers from the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga have developed a platform that measures an athlete's risk of injury and allows them to create - through a series of wearable devices - a personalized 'risk profile' that can be managed by their smartphones. The main advantage of tech, in this case, is to offer an overview that is not conditioned by subjective considerations. Like, for example, those of a player who cares about being on the pitch even if he knows he is not in top form: a 'more objective analysis to which the history of previous injuries and the results of standardized screening tests also contribute.

Internet of Things and Athlete Performance: Performance Optimization

In sport - where competition is often played in terms of centimetres and thousandths of a second - even the smallest margin is a great gain: a small improvement in performance - however apparently insignificant - translates into a great advantage that, in turn, it could lead to much more significant improvements. Millions of data collected by wearables and sensors allow teams to identify every piece of performance, including negative points: every little detail can be studied, evaluated and, when needed, corrected to improve future performance. Technology has taken competition to unprecedented levels, but it has also expanded the possibilities of 'self-monitoring ' and expression of sporting talent and, consequently, increased the desire to practice itself, compared to simply watching.

Fitness

Smaller, smarter, and integrated in any type of object to wear - from the watch to the suit - wearable technology has become, in this sense, more and more popular, passing from professional athletes to amateurs, to simple Sunday amateurs and everyone. those who wish to keep their fitness levels under control. Tactical, for this, expects the sale of 310.4 million wearables worldwide this year alone and, by 2021, Gartner estimates that smartwatch sales will reach almost 81 million units, but the figures are destined to increase as fitness technology continues to grow and evolve. What kind? Here are some examples:

• trackers that measure daily exercise - with pedometer, stopwatch, and timer - but also help improve sleep quality - and consequently health in general - by analysing heart rate to estimate how many hours you sleep each night and how many of these hours I am of deep or light sleep.
• smartwatch able to monitor and record training sessions without interruption.
• glasses equipped with displays on which speed and distance data are projected.
• shoes equipped with sensors and accelerometer, able - thanks to a jump test - to establish when the body is ready for running.
• helmets with integrated GPS.

The list could go on and on the future is certainly that of a technology that is ever easier to use, more invisible, and more performing and precise as possible - in terms of tracked data - for the consumer. Therefore many companies are moving towards solutions that take the concept of wearable to the extreme, introducing sensors into clothing: shoes, but also socks that measure the impact after a jump and ankle twist, yoga pants. able to vibrate to allow the correct execution of the exercises, meshes that monitor cardiac activity, breathing, muscles, and wrist. Designing a wearable product of this type is not easy, because it means considering a series of factors.

• Comfort: the sensors must integrate perfectly into the fabric and the athlete must not feel their presence when wearing them.
• Style: fashion dictates its laws, even in the gym, and athletes want to wear something aesthetically pleasing.
• Durability: this type of clothing must be particularly resistant to wear, but also to sweat and bad weather.
• Performance: it is necessary to guarantee maximum lightness using space-saving sensors, to counteract perspiration using hi-tech fabrics, and to promote performance with batteries that last if possible.

Running

Millions of people run, and technology runs with them, ahead of them. Running is often a solitary moment, the challenge that an individual poses first to himself, to his limits. Here - for this - the use of wearable devices becomes only the most tech version of a comparison as old as the world, but with modern weapons such as:

• footpads, i.e., sensors that can be adapted to shoelaces and that can monitor a surprising series of parameters, such as force and speed of impact of the foot, time of contact with the ground, cadence, oscillation of the legs. These sensors are also able to score performance, so you know how to improve it and even when it's time to replace shoes.
• armbands equipped with heart rate monitor and internal memory.
• running watches, watches equipped with GPS, capable of loading routes, and with cadence sensors, altimeters, and heart monitoring systems even more precise and efficient than heart rate monitors.

Intelligent insoles that - once positioned inside the shoes - transmit all the data relating to the pressure, stress, and impact of the foot.