Recording Athletes in a Whole New Way

     When we think of technology we think of computers, social networks, websites and essentially complications. However, when you combine technology with things like the environment, sports and everyday life you can do so much more than just create a new program or build a computer.
     Catapult Sports is one of the companies combining technology with the everyday of sports. With their newest product OPTIMEYE G5, S5 and X4 models a device used to track the movements, activity and overall workload of soccer players. These products are working to revolutionize the way professional soccer players train and the algorithms in these products are designed to track dives, leaps, sprints and quick recoveries tracking essentially every move of the individual wearing the device.

     To the left is an image of the G5 model and it is meant to work strictly with goal keepers as it is a bit larger than the other models because it has a lot more required of it. This tracks every motion of the goalie and allows for coaches, doctors and even players to review the statistics to see not only how they are performing but also let them see what they may need to practice more.
     As these products are still only in testing in Europe with various soccer teams they are still working out any problems that may arise however, they have already started to make various improvements and discoveries. For example they added a function that not only tracks when you jump or dive but also how high you jumped, what your air time was and even run speeds. This will help individuals compare themselves to one another but also allow teams to compare themselves to one another.
     Products like this are just small steps into what is to come and with this technology we are only going to see the world of sports improve as the training of individuals will improve as well. In my opinion we may even see future FIFA, Madden and NFL games utilize this device to get exact readings on players individual stats such as acceleration and speed. Just another form of wearable technology which we will see utilized in the years to come.

Sources: Wired