Sport World: The Impact of Technology on the Sporting Industry
There is no question that the sports industry constitutes a massive financial market. In fact, according to a study by Research and Markets, the annual potential of this industry is projected to exceed half a trillion dollars globally in 2021. Despite many events being canceled in the previous year, this industry has come roaring back to life with fervor and appears to be stronger than ever.
In this new landscape, many tech companies see an opening to transform the industry — including sports, fitness, and wellness — to help reinvent the way people approach things like home workouts with devices that include personal wearables and performance tracking systems. These devices have the potential to revolutionize not just home fitness, but the ways in which professional athletes track their performance in competitions. If you’ve ever been interested in trying your luck at golf or some other sport, these devices can help you maximize your performance.
This article will act as an overview of what’s currently happening in the world of sports and technology, including recent innovations, as well as some fantastic products that are helping to transform this industry.
Some of what we will cover in this article includes:
- Tech advancements in the sports industry
- Smart equipment for sports and the technology behind it
- Examples of the ways in which these technologies can be applied
Technological Advancements in Sport
Unquestionably, the emerging technologies that are so popular in tech fields, like the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI), are impacting the sports and fitness industry in an appreciable manner. In addition to commonplace fitness trackers and apps designed for various sporting activities, new technologies are continually being adopted in the industry. Below, we will go over some of these innovations.
Novel wearables
Long gone are the days when wearables for sports and fitness were solely associated with devices like the Fitbit wristband and one-dimension pedometers. There is now a wide variety of wearable products with an equally wide range of functions, some of which are downright jaw-dropping.
Some of these products include smart glasses for cyclists which are able to build and display routes in real-time, as well as goggles for swimmers that are capable of collecting data based on key metrics. There are also shoes for runners and footballers that include sensors that are capable of tracking your speed, force, motion, traction, and more.
You can even purchase a full-body suit that includes performance monitoring during training exercises and helps add depth to the experience with augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) features. These can be helpful tools for everyone from athletes to patients undergoing physical rehabilitation after injury.
Telefitness technologies
Due to recent events, telefitness has grown in popularity, and for good reason. Telefitness uses technology to assist in things like home workouts and remote fitness instruction. It includes a broad spectrum of tools and solutions, from video chats for instructors to engage with their students to apps and more innovative devices like smart mirrors, which include integrated technology that is capable of monitoring your movements to help track your performance.
One of the greatest things about this technology is that it’s truly revolutionizing the way people think about their fitness routine. These services can have a major impact on the elderly and people suffering from a wide variety of conditions and injuries that require them to remain at home for health reasons. These offer a wide range of health and wellness benefits for customers who are not able to access gyms for their fitness routine, as well as those looking simply looking to add a dose of analytics to their workout routine.
Sports Equipment Technology
One of the most important areas where technology is having an impact on sports is equipment. This can include transforming the use of traditional devices like the elliptical to create a more integrated experience, as well as innovative tools that have never been seen on the market before. Some of these include:
Smart workout equipment: Adding sensors to run-of-the-mill equipment like an elliptical or even a dumbbell can create a much more integrated experience by offering real-time and post-workout analytics on things like performance, health, and other key metrics. This can help you tailor your routine to your body’s needs and abilities, as well as offer insight into areas where you can improve.
Integrated gear: From glasses to full-body suits, helmets, golf clubs, and more, an increasing number of athletes, as well as customers looking to improve their performance in their hobby or workout routine, are turning to integrated gear that helps with everything from creating and displaying routes for runners and monitoring swing force for golfers to tracking your performance across key metrics.
Enhanced sporting arenas: It’s not only the wearable and usable devices that are getting an upgrade but sporting arenas are also being enhanced using new technological developments. Things like race tracks, stadiums, ice rinks, gyms, and a wide variety of other sporting venues are being decked out with sensors and electricity management systems. These help to transform the facilities into smart spaces that are capable of optimizing the conditions for athletes and fans alike.
Athlete tracking systems: Technological developments have begun to have a major impact on professional sports. One of the best ways we can measure the impact of technology in this area is by simply comparing the performance of today’s players to the performance of players a few decades ago before technological innovations really began to take hold. Having the technological capabilities that allow coaches and athletes alike to track performance across key metrics allows players to modify their gameplay and work on areas that need improvement, and enables coaches to tailor their strategies according to the performance of every player.