"Moneyball" is so last century. If you're one of those old-time sports fans who hates metrics like quarterback ratings and WAR, you're about to be left further in the dust. Major sports -- soccer, baseball, and basketball -- have been experimenting with technology for the last several years to get deeper into their athletes' performance. But those sports have been relying on … [Read more...]
Feel What The Players Feel
It's the ultimate insider's sport fan gear. Imagine wearing your favorite player's jersey, but clothes being tricked out to receive sensations of what the player is feeling as he's on the field. They're trying it out in Australia. Foxtel and the agency CHE Proximity worked with three Australian Rules Football players -- Scott Pendlebury, Luke Hodge and Trent Cotchin. The … [Read more...]
Sacramento Kings to Wear Glass During the Game
We're hearing that the NBA's Sacramento Kings, at 14-25 10 games out of the Western Division playoff race, are going to wear Google Glass during Thursday's game against the Indiana Pacers. The players won't be taking the court with them on; they'll be donning the devices only when they're on the bench. Cheerleaders and game announcers will be wearing them, too -- and the … [Read more...]
Are Gadgets Good for Training or Just a Distraction?
Physical activity, at some level, is about being in the moment. But at another level, it's also about stepping outside yourself and analyzing what you're doing so you can adjust and improve. Wearable tech sits at the vertex of those schools of thought. Anyone who's strapped on a heart monitor can understand the appeal (if not necessity) of tracking performance; anyone who's … [Read more...]
LED Bike Turn Signal Gloves
We weren't expecting much on the day after Thanksgiving, but we found this morning a truly awesome idea: bicycle gloves with high-output LEDs that function as directional signals. Check this video: [youtube www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJLzunjOpBU] Zach Vorheis was a programmer for Google Earth who found his way into the fashion tech world and came up with this … [Read more...]
Go ahead. Find the Bike Helmet.
The Swedish company Hovding has built a bicycle helmet you can't see. It's a collar that deploys like an air bag when needed. Before: Before: After: A better look: Here's a video of a bunch of crash tests: And another more inspirational video: [vimeo https://vimeo.com/43038579] I know helmets mess up your hair, but I'm … [Read more...]
Big Sports, Big Money, Big Wearable Tech
A press release just popped up promoting the Sports Analytics Innovation Summit in March 26 and 27 in London. The release makes the interesting point that elite athletics are in an entirely different realm when it comes to wearables than consumers. Basically, our Fuelbands and Fitbits are just oh so cute to powerhouses like Chelsea FC and Red Bull professional soccer. The … [Read more...]
Wearables, Big Data, and Sports
The elite German soccer team TSG 1899 Hoffenheim is owned by one of the founders of the database company SAP, so it may not be surprising that they're also playing in the big leagues of technology. According to this story on SAP's site. Hoffenheim is sticking sensors in its players shinguards, clothes, and balls, collecting movement data, and breaking it down with SAP … [Read more...]
Hexoskin shirt goes Indigogo
Micro-investing seems to be the way a lot of wearable startups are raising money to build their second prototypes. Hexoskin, looking for $100,000 at Indigogo, looks maybe a little more advanced and thoughtful than most. The Hexoskin washable and strapless shirt has sensors that track movement, respiration, and heart activity -- just the stuff that athletes need to know … [Read more...]
MC10 and Sports Injuries
MC 10 is a Boston-based company that's deeply into wearable technologies that go way beyond buzzy products like watches. Bloomberg TV had an interview the other day with Isaiah Kacyvenski, a retired NFL linebacker with undergrad and graduate degrees from Harvard who runs MC10's sports segment. Kacyvenski talks about his instrumenting players with a sensor-laden skullcap that … [Read more...]