July 9, 2014 at 14:38Sports technology: smart devices for professionals and hobbyists
Now, when it comes to sports gadgets, the idea usually goes towards fitness trackers. But not a single tracker lives athlete, pro or amateur. In addition to trackers, manufacturers of sports equipment and accessories have taken care of creating high-tech balls, golf clubs and everything else.
It may well be that in a few years, the soccer balls will criticize the players at the top of their voices (“Well, where did you hit, well, huh? It was necessary to hit the goal at an angle of 43 degrees, but what did you do ?! Go, squeeze 30 times , and don’t be lazy, the fitness tracker will show me everything ”). In the meantime, athletes (not only football players, but also golfers, hockey players, tennis players and skiers) can receive a detailed analysis of their actions, plus a couple of tips on a smartphone.
In general, under the cut - examples of some sports accessories: balls, clubs and everything else that suddenly wiser. Maybe someone has already tried something of the presented?
Smart balls
Balls, like balls, are no different in appearance from their simple counterparts, except for their high-tech "filling." Sensors, motion sensors, wireless communication modules - all this can be found in some models of balls.
Ball Adidas miCoach SMART BALL
This sport was and will soon be the most popular in the world. Today, the number of football fans reaches 3.5 billion. This is half the population of the whole world! That is why one of the first smart balls was released by soccer players for soccer players. When training with the Adidas miCoach SMART smart ball, almost any amateur or professional can feel like a major league player.
A smart ball does not just provide you with feedback, it serves as a coach. For this, a smartphone application is used, which allows the player to see his game and calculate errors. During the game, the built-in sensors send the speed, rotation, trajectory and ball hit points to the application via Bluetooth 4.0 to the smartphone. In addition, the video stream is also recorded, which allows analyzing the game to clearly see all the achievements and errors without missing a single important detail.
Unfortunately, miCoach SMART BALL only supports synchronization with iOS devices, Android was left behind for some reason, although the developers promised to release a similar application for smart phones on Android OS.
You can buy an Adidas miCoach SMART BALL ball, its price is about $ 300 (for some reason, it gives an error on the official website when trying to find a card, but there are other sellers, including Apple . In addition, you can send a request for receipt notification on MedGadgets smart ball in the Russian Federation.
Infomotion 94Fifty Smart Sensor Basketball
Another cute and smart ball has been released for basketball players,
There are various training modes for beginners and experienced players. A variety of statistics are measured and displayed in the mobile application, such as speed, rotation and throw angle, along with recommendations on how to make the shots better.
By the way, the ball allows the coach to observe the parameters of the game in real time (speed, shots, etc.). The ball is available in two versions: regular (29.5 inches) and medium (28.5 inches) sizes.
You can purchase the Infomotion 94Fifty Basketball Smart Ball from the manufacturer for $ 250. or from MedGadgets , in the Russian Federation, for 12300 rubles.
Smart rackets, baseball bats and golf clubs
Football players and basketball players can be satisfied, but what about tennis players, baseball players and golfers? There are also offers on the market for smart devices, and there are also a lot of smart accessories for these sports.
Smart racket Babolat Play Pure Drive
Tennis, it turns out, takes the fourth place in the world in popularity (almost a billion fans). Entertainment is an order of magnitude less than in football or basketball, but adrenaline, the emotions of the players and hours of sets-debates attract many viewers.
Babolat is probably the most famous manufacturer of everything and everything for tennis players. Rafael Nadal, Kim Clijsters, Andy Roddick, Leander Paes, Fernando Gonzalez, Igor Andreev and many other famous
This high-tech racket features a sensor integrated in the handle. Pulse is a rating system that evaluates a game based on your technique, stamina, and strength. The system records the number of top spins, forehand innings and other types of strokes, other indicators, as well as individual achievements and results for the entire game. A sensor built into the pen records the game and transfers data to the smartphone, with the corresponding application installed. The device supports both iOS and Android platforms. Combined with an integrated global user community, the Babolat Play smart racket turns a regular game into a competition between players from around the world.
The price of the Babolat Play Pure Drive racket, as you might guess, is very rather high - 399 US dollars. You can buy on the manufacturer's website .
GAME GOLF Tracking System
It is difficult to integrate something into a metal golf club, so the developers went the other way. The GAME GOLF system consists of two components: a tracker worn on the belt and special tag tags attached to clubs. In a set - 18 tags for clubs. All that needs to be done is to hold the tracker mark on the tracker with a stick before each hit, and GAME GOLF will do the rest. True, GAME GOLF does not show your performance in real time on a smartphone or tablet. To get and view the collected data, you need to connect the tracker to a PC, with the appropriate program, and synchronize the data.
Game Golf captures and displays the game in a dynamic interface, along with statistics, trends and useful information for you. There are complete statistics, achievements and records, as well as the opportunity to share and compare your results with other members of the community.
A fairly significant drawback of the system: - this is the lack of the ability to wirelessly transmit data without the need for synchronization with a PC.
Zepp Sensor for Tennis, Baseball and Golf
The Zepp sensor for tennis rackets, baseball bats and golf clubs turns these tools into smart devices. The device allows you to analyze the swing, start and end speed, the position of the hand when swinging and everything else. 360º swing analysis allows you to view and even play the beat from start to finish in 3D format from any angle.
For each game, there is a special mount that allows you to install the same sensor on a baseball bat, tennis racket or golf gloves. Well, for each sport - its own application, with data analysis from Zepp.
The received data is synchronized with applications for iOS and Android, the transmission is wireless, everything is as usual.
The sensor comes in three versions: Zepp Baseball, Golf or Tennis, each of which includes a sensor, an appropriate mount, and a charger.
Well, you can buy Zepp on the manufacturer’s website for $ 149 or in Russia, from MedGadgets for 8,400 rubles.
Smart glasses and virtual displays HUD
Smart glasses Recon Jet
Recon Jet - hi-tech glasses that can be called not only “smart”, but also pretty.
Recon smart glasses have a 1 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, combined with 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of shared memory. The device projects an image comparable in size to the picture on a 30-inch HD display from a distance of 2 meters. There are wireless modules Wi-Fi a / b / g / n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, ANT and micro USB, plus a 3D accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometers. The developers also provided pressure and ambient temperature sensors to track owner activity, plus an HD camera. All necessary indicators are shown in real time.
Recon Jet can be paired with a smartphone based on iOS or Android to receive and answer incoming calls through the built-in speaker and microphone, view SMS, and connect to the network. In addition to the built-in applications that display statistics on your performance (speed, distance traveled, etc.), Recon Jet smart glasses also support third-party applications and sensors.
Developers can use SDK devices to create an application of their choice, using external sensors via the ANT + standard protocol: for example, heart rate controllers, cadence sensors, etc.
Recon Jet is the most expensive device on our list. But if you consider that this is not just an accessory, but a separate computer with support for its own applications, then the high price seems quite justified. For comparison, Google Glass will cost you several times more. Glasses are also available in white.
The device should go on sale in the fall of 2014, at a price of $ 499. In addition, you can pre-order to buy a device in the Russian Federation on the site MedGadgets.ru .
Smart glasses for skiers Recon Snow2
Well, and another gadget from Recon instruments, now - for lovers of skiing. In addition to design, glasses are not much different from Recon Jet. The same powers and sensors are integrated here as in the Recon Jet. True, there is no camera, and the virtual display projects a virtual image, comparable in size to the picture on a 14-inch HD display from a distance of 1.5 meters.
In addition to key performance indicators such as speed, distance, and temperature, Recon Snow2 glasses also let you track vertical descents, airtime, and altitude — all important statistics for mountain sports. The device also supports third-party sensors and applications, and also connects to a smartphone. Instead of a touchpad, here is a wearable control panel with large buttons that are easy to operate even
Just like the Recon Jet, the Recon Snow2 is quite an expensive pleasure, though, depending on what you have to do with it. Should appear on sale in the near future at a price of 399 US dollars, you can leave a request for purchase in the Russian Federation on the MedGadgets website .
As far as one can judge, other interesting devices for athletes will appear in the near future, so we will wait.