The Impact Of Technology On Sport
Sport and sportsman have long inspired awe and admiration in people. As the years passed and we bettered our knowledge of the human body and its capabilities, most of us had thought we could not improve on our skills any further. But with the advances in modern technology we continue to impress each other with our improvements.
Even if you are not an Olympic gold medallist, using cutting edge technology can greatly improve your own sports performance – even if it is completing a mile in a minute.
The modern athlete uses every bit of assistance they can get; from expert coaching to dieticians, to the best and latest technology. Data gathered by technology is used to minutely dissect an athlete’s performance, identifying exactly where improvement is needed, and where stresses need to be addressed. Here, we discuss the current technologies making an impact on the sporting world.
Wearables
Today’s modern wearable technology monitors everything, from the simple heartbeat to calories burned; and the data collected can be analysed in detail. Previously only professional athletes had access to this type of higher level monitoring available through sports science and expensive doctors, but these days, wearables are available for everyone and can be used for anything from playing [casino online](http://www.spinpalace.com/ca/) games to tracking dietary choices.
And in a professional arena, the information supplied by wearables is invaluable to the coaches of teams, as using a wearable can track every aspect of a players performance and fitness. This information can be used to improve an athlete’s performance and an entire teams performance.
The future of wearables looks bright, and it is expected that wearable products of the future will be similar to Hexoskin, a shirt with sensors woven in the fabric to measure respiration, steps and calories burned.
The Future Technologies
Genetics are also meeting the tech world and in the future coaches will be able to use your specific genetic results to perfect your sporting performance and needs.
The results of your genetic tests will be used from perfecting your diet for peak energy in training and events, to what training would be best for your genetic make up. These genetic results will determine whether you should be weight training or doing more cardio, or whether you are more susceptible to injuries or diseases.
VR and AR in the Sports World
Virtual reality is also coming to the fore and enabling athletes to train without actually having to be present on the training field. With VR we can monitor performance in a controlled environment, and it also allows the athlete to repeat a situation until they achieve their best result. The athlete’s performance can then be analysed and their result compared, and improvements suggested and worked through in this virtual world.
Before VR, video was used to analyse athlete’s prior performances, with VR, athletes can actually relive the game and perform the action repeatedly until they get it perfect.
And once VR is old news – what next? Probably augmented reality where players will get live updates in actual games or matches in real time. This information would give them updates regarding their opponents and their possible weaknesses, with possible use of prior game history.
Would augmented reality be fair to sport and sportsmen? Yes and no. Only if both teams have the same access to this sort of technology. But, as with all sports and their enhancements, do all sides have the same advantages? And speaking of fair, is all this technology involved in sport fair? Some people compare the use of technology to the use of steroids in sports. While that is a bit of an extreme comparison, some would say in an Olympic event a country with less access to technology would have a severe disadvantage.
So in the end, technology will be present, but we should ensure fairness across sports, with proper rules in place. Using sports tech to our advantage is key, but not to the detriment of other competitors.
