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of today’s sports-related fields. Given their increasing use and further potential, it is fair to predict that sports
management will demand a growing range of innovations and technology in the future.
IoT (Internet of Things)
Along with health-care and wellness, sports represent one of the most rapidly growing areas of personal and
consumer-oriented Internet of Things technologies (IoT). These areas are in an early phase of development based
on first generation technologies and infrastructures, but are destined to constantly advance due to rapid market
expectations. Fans and athletes desire even more data now that sensors that measure speed, acceleration, direction,
balance, distance, altitude, and stress levels have become more common, smaller and cheaper to manufacture. The
technology to connect all these sensors and analyze the data they gather has also improved.
Sensors can be easily found in sports equipment, such as baseball bats, tennis rackets and basketballs. From these
items, data can be collected to define how a player is performing and if he needs to be corrected in any specific way.
Sensors can also be used to determine how hard a player is working and where injury risk is greater. Managers and
trainers can then modify players’ training in order to maximize training time while reducing the risk of injury.
Conclusion
The vast majority of sporting goods are designed to meet the requirements of a large group of people. As a
consequence, designers, manufacturers and retailers constantly need to estimate demands in terms of consumer
preferences (such as color and style) as well as function and sizing. The fact that every customer is different and
desires individualized products and services poses many opportunities for innovation in intelligent production
processes for sports apparel, footwear and equipment. Research into biological factors of individuals and specific
target groups is necessary in the field of biomechanics, physiology, anthropometrics and motivational strategies.
The development of advanced design tools for human product and user-interface interaction will make innovations
in the area of intelligent feedback systems possible. It will also enable the redesign of products for simplification to
meet the required skills of a specific target group, such as athletes, amateurs, children or certain patient groups.
The conclusions emphasize the need to promote cross-sectorial cooperation between universities, research centers,
industries and sport bodies and to invest more on sports-based research and product development.