The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas has become a brilliant showcase of everything new in consumer electronics. That it takes place in the first week of the New Year is deliberate in order to prime buying fever in the post Christmas lull. This year more than any other sport has been front and centre stage with a host of announcements from big players, largely in the connected fitness area.
Under Armour used last year’s event to launch Under Armour record a gathering of their various fitness and performance apps under one brand and this year they announced UA Health Box, a connected fitness device for your home, a brand new smart shoe and two new wireless headphones that will measure your activity and allow you to log yourself like never before.
“For 20 years Under Armour has changed the way athletes dress,” said CEO Kevin Plank, “Now we are changing the way they live.”
It’s all about connected fitness and the way that sporting innovation can drive a healthier population through technological measurement and analysis.
New Balance, partners with Athletics Ireland and Team Ireland for the Olympic Games this year were also to the fore with the launch of a new Digital Sport division that will focus initially on devices including a new smart watch to launch later in 2016; and wearable technology embedded into equipment and shoes.
It was part of a launch with Intel of 3D printed shoe soles.
“Digital Technology has truly revolutionised, very quickly the sportswear industry and New Balance continues to want to be a brand on the forefront, arming our athletes with the cutting edge products that will help them reach peak performance,” said it’s CEO Rob DeMartini.
The company is also launching a New Balance Run Club combining a digital and real running communities through Strava technology, helping to build a mutual encouragement environment that will have workshops, showcase events and real running groups.
That’s a blend of the old and the new that will be launching later this year, initially in the US.
ESPN, Red Bull and Intel is another coalition of major brands coming together to introduce tech into sport. They will be working on new sensors to put into snowboards ahead of the 2016 X Games in Aspen and delivering new ways to both monitor and watch extreme sports.
As Sport for Business builds up to a major event in Sports and Technology later this year we will have a weekly column on all things related to Sports and Tech appearing here each Monday. Make sure you stay ahead of the game and its relevance to the Irish market by staying close to what we have planned.
