Technology is continually creeping into every aspect of our lives. We can find it anywhere. It has even touched every industry like business, travel, ...
Technology is continually creeping into every aspect of our lives. We can find it anywhere. It has even touched every industry like business, travel, entertainment, manufacturing, retail and so on. So it seems only right that the sports industry is no exception.
According to Forbes, the sports industry is estimated to reach $73 billion by 2019.
Although this growth is mainly due to media rights it doesn’t mean that technology is a small factor in sports. As an industry grows so do its products and services, which is why we are beginning to see an investment in software development changing the sports industry.
Creating an Impact on the Modern Day Sport
Nowadays we not only see technology used to watch, enhance and play sports, there’s a need to use it to know everything about them. The modern day professional sports team has realized this and consequently all have incorporated an analytics department. Data analytics has and will continually change the sports industry. Teams can now use analytics to create a player profile and build data driven decision-making to determine if a player is worth scouting, drafting, signing, or even trading. But that’s not all, analytics can also help assess results, records and opponent history to determine the results of an upcoming game.
The NBA is taking data analytics to the next level to measure player performance. All the basketball teams are using “Player Tracking” to look at player movement in order to analyze efficiency. Player Tracking utilizes six cameras installed at court side to collect stats based on speed, distance, player separation and ball possession. These stats help each team determine a player’s speed, passes, dribbles, rebounds among other things.
However, these statistics aren’t just a way to help coaches analyze their players, fans are seeking these stats as well. People no longer want to go watch a baseball game, they want to be able to watch it from anywhere and get real time data. Numerous websites and apps are now used to deliver this data to sports fans from all over the world. There’s no doubt that sports analytics technology will see large improvements in the coming years and continue to make an impact on the modern day sport.
Wearable Technology
Aside from coaches and fans wanting to measure player performance, we also see players using hi-fi gadgets to measure and enhance their own performance on and off the field. Wearable sports technology can help professional and amateur athletes increase their athletic efficiency and prevent injuries as well. Perceiving what athletes are looking for to improve, firms are looking to cater to those needs by developing tech-based solutions that can benefit both the professional and the amateur. We have seen wearable technology like activity trackers, pedometers, smart watches and wireless headphones inspire everyday people to get active. Nowadays, there’s a higher emphasis on fitness that lead the way to new software built around sports.
Performance Enhancers
No, this isn’t referring to steroids. These performance enhancers are based on new technology. During training, professional athletes aren’t only using smart watches to monitor performance. The sports industry has also incorporated software to help athletes train & perform better. Various tech gadgets such as the Galvanic skin response monitor, heart rate sensors, specialized suits, fitness trackers, etc are providing real-time information. Software in the sports industry are allowing the measurement of many sport-related metrics such as running speed, heart rate, skin temperature and perspiration. By perfectly analyzing the data obtained, performance can be easily tracked and therefore enhanced. Sports are being played differently… they are being played better. New records are being set and it’s incredible to see how technology plays a role in all of it.
Fan Engagement
The unprecedented growth in sports technology has not only benefitted players and managers, it has also benefitted the game-lovers. Software in the sports industry has allowed people to enjoy their favorite game no matter where they are. The television and the computer aren’t the only ways fans can watch their teams play. There is also constant growth in using smartphones, tablets and other mobile gadgets to live steam any sport in HD. Due to such convenience and commodity for the fan most stadiums are seeing game attendance decline. Stadiums are attempting to bring in new tech, features and seating styles in an effort to win back fans that are choosing to watch remotely rather than in-person.
However, there could be more competition ahead with the development of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality technology stepping into the sports industry. Considering both, VR and AR have the potential to create a realistic or better game experience for fans at home.
Technology for Athletes with Disabilities
What about athletes with disabilities? New technology efforts are in place to enhance prosthetics in the sports industry. Dr. Roy A. Cooper, Director of Human Engineering Resources Laboratories at the University of Pittsburgh is advancing the science of prosthetic limbs. His science mixes with technology in a big way. The process begins with the athletes wearing body suits with motion sensors. Those suits monitor their movements and send them to a computer for digitalization. The computer data can then be used to design the prosthetic limb needed so the athlete with a disability can perform the actions necessary for their sport. This kind of technology can lead to prosthetic devices that could potentially break the barrier between athletes with and without disabilities.
Custom Software in Sports
The majority of the sports industry is now making use of custom software to enhance training & performance, communicate and export and import useful data. Custom software can help coaches monitor and track training modules and individual player performance at a more personal level. To be precise, it makes it easier for teams to control and manage virtually all aspects of the game. Anything from training to player selection to communication to data security and so on.
There are so many gadgets to help boost fitness or pinpoint a player’s weak areas, but its rare to find customized software tailored to one team or player. Tailored data can help coaches and other managers fine-tune their training processes or come up with customized training plans. What more?
The convenience of sports technology has made it a necessity for all the big international sports clubs. Users can opt for offline desktop-based applications or online web-based applications. Also, all the information can be used on the go since custom software can be integrated with responsive features.
For custom software development services of all industries around, you can rely on IbleSoft.
We have a large team of certified software developers that can safely assure our clients the best-in-class software development services. To know more about our software development services, contact our experienced software consultants today.
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