https://www.sporttechie.com/fc-barcelona-realtrack-systems-wearable-technology-wimu/"The persistent problem with sports research, he added, is the small athlete population most trainers get to work with. “Research results in sports are more intuition than science because of the n—the sample size,” Mundet said."
--> At least we know the 'n' available to Catapult currently is >2500 teams. Guess this will help continue to drive Catapult to be in front of everyone else. Furthermore, the Innovation Hub views Wimu as an open platform for integration with other devices and use cases by other partners and leagues. Barcelona is working with DuPont and Twinery on a smart garment that incorporates technology to monitor ECG and respiratory rates. Mundet said the BIHub is also piloting a program with Finnish company Myontec and its Mbody EMG technology for gauging muscle activation. He emphasized the importance of using GPS or UWB to know not only the training load endured by an athlete, but also “but how you react to them.”
--> Another idea for possible advancement of Catapult's vest? Instead of monitoring just heart rates, it will do ECG and respiratory rates?Both Catapult and STATSports now have devices combining GPS and radio-based technologies, but Barcelona favors Wimu in part because of the continued collaboration with RealTrack Systems and the applications of its data for tactical analysis.
--> Looks like the importance of data for tactical analysis is a key selection factor, which is what Catapult had been working on? The club’s R&D branch, the Barça Innovation Hub, set to work benchmarking the various tracking systems on accuracy, reliability, and usability. The best-rated wearable was Wimu, a hybrid indoor-outdoor technology built by a startup called RealTrack Systems, whose team consists of former Nokia engineers based in Andalucia, Spain.
--> Catapult is not the only one that can offer Hybrid indoor-outdoor technology. But at least, Catapult is able to offer this product now to all its existing clients and new clients.
(20min delay)
