Image: zebra.com

People and their technology are connecting more and more as the Internet of Things rapidly materializes. Fitness trackers are used by millions to collect and track their biometric data. Amateur and professional athletes utilize fitness tracking technology, including wearables, for the same purpose. This progression towards sharing and collecting personal health information impacts individuals and society in significant ways, yet the legal framework is undeveloped in this area.

The professional sports industry is an early adopter of wearable technology, utilizing it to prevent injury and increase athlete performance, improve team gameplay, and enhance fan experiences, both in-stadium and in peripheral offerings such as mobile apps and fantasy sports data.

For example, the NFL has partnered with Zebra Technologies to outfit its players and stadiums with technology that captures each athlete’s acceleration rate, on-field position and distance covered on each play. Matt Swensson, the NFL’s senior director of Emerging Products and Technology says, “we’ve always had these traditional NFL stats. The league has been very interested in trying to broaden that and bring new statistics to the fans . . . every week there’s another thought about how we can expand upon the information we’ve pulled together.” 

Read the full article here. Check out SportTechie.com for global sports technology coverage.