Accelerometer + Biometric Sensors: How They Can Improve Performance
Athletics today are utilizing accelerometers in several different sports for performance monitoring. In golf, accelerometers are being used to measure the golfer’s swing trajectory both in their downswing and backswing. They’re also being utilized in baseball to measure the batter’s trajectory and orientation of the bat during the batter’s swing, as well as used to measure the pitcher’s elbow during their wind up and pitch. Accelerometers are commonly utilized in a large majority of sports today. Although tracking this information is vital for performance monitoring in sports, a vast majority of other important information that can affect performance is being left out by not also implementing the use of biometric sensors. But what all can biosensors monitor among athletes today? The answer is, just about everything.
What are Biometric Sensors?
Biometric sensors measures the body’s electrical impulses that are capable of being implemented into clothing and apparel to monitor health vitals, and performance. Electrodes can also be incorporated with electrical stimulation (E-Stim) and TENS to help with muscle recovery time. Biometric sensors are eventually going to be the future of athletics and performance monitoring due to their simplicity and how easily they can monitor important information to improve athlete’s performance.
What Can They Monitor?
1. Muscle Activity:
Muscle activity is the single most important monitoring that biosensors can provide. They can help to improve your muscle’s performance in just about every sport, simply because they help to bring light to your muscle’s performance that you may not have been aware of previously. By implementing biosensors into the clothing that athletes wear, you’ll be able to monitor muscle fatigue. Monitoring muscle fatigue is important to understanding how tired or worn out your muscles are. This helps to eliminate muscle strain in the future. You’ll also be capable of monitoring muscle symmetry, meaning whether your muscles are performing the same and measuring the amount of strain of one muscle over another. This can eliminate the potential of future injury as well. By being able to monitor your muscle’s performance, it will help to eliminate the potential of injury as well as give important feedback to improve athlete’s performance in their sporting activities.
2. Acceleration, Speed, and Distance:
As an accelerometer measures important information such as trajectory and orientation, biosensors are also capable of having accelerometers implemented into them. Not only can acceleration be monitored through the use of biometric sensors, but the speed and distance an athlete runs can also be measured. This will provide important feedback to athletes that can eventually help them to improve their performance in athletics.
3. Health Vitals:
Another important feature that biosensors can provide is the remote monitoring of health vitals. Through the use of biometric sensors, important health information such as respiratory rate, heart rate, and brain activity is capable of being monitored. I can provide immediate feedback to any abnormalities that an athlete may be experiencing. In fact, the fact that heart rate monitoring is offered through biometric sensors has warned individuals of an oncoming heart attack and gave them the time to get paramedics sent to them before it was too late. Being made aware of these abnormalities or health conditions at an early point in time can help to ensure an athlete’s safety and to protect their health.
Conclusion:
Although accelerometers are essential to monitoring athlete’s performance, they’re missing a lot of essential information that athletes could be tracking. By also being able to implement biosensors into athletes’ clothing, it can help to improve their all-around performance as well as monitor and ensure their health. If you find yourself interested in biosensors or are interested in further information, check out our biometric sensors page or reach out! Our team is always available and ready to speak to you about your next project.
Meet the Author: Jaclyn King
Jaclyn is a Digital Marketing Specialist on the BTI Team. Her main job responsibilities involve inbound marketing, content creation, and social media management. To get to know more about Jaclyn, check her out on LinkedIn!