Wearable Devices in the Winter Olympics and Paralympics Help Bring Technology to the Forefront

With the number of use cases for wearable devices steadily on the rise, it is not surprising to see the technology entering various sporting activities—most recently, the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. Wearables that were in use at these Games included those that improve athletes’ performance, provide heating during the opening ceremonies, offer a hands-free payment system, and aid partially sighted participants. The technology helped the athletes during training and participation in the Olympics, and its use in the Games raised awareness about the benefits and use cases for wearable devices.

Some of the major wearables within this year’s Winter Olympics and Paralympics included:

Samsung SmartSuit: This smart clothing device was used by two Dutch short track skaters to improve their ideal skating position by feeding real-time body position data to the coach’s smartphone app. The suits were custom-made with sensors that measured the skaters’ exact body posture to calculate the distance from the hips to the ice. The app analyzed the data and sent out signals which generated a vibrating buzz to the skater’s wrist, enabling them to adjust their posture. While the suit could only be used in training and not during competitions, per official International Skating Union rules, the Dutch coach noticed an improvement in the skaters’ posture, and the pair went on to win a gold and silver medal in the games. The suit was originally designed for the two skaters, but Samsung is investigating and developing the technology further.

Halo Sport: This device was used by the U.S. ski and snowboarding teams to help boost their chances in the Games. The headphone-style device uses pulses of energy to prime the brain (called neuropriming) and stimulates the motor cortex during athletes’ workouts. This neuropriming helped to improve the response of the athlete’s brains during the training by putting them into a temporary state of hyperlearning and accelerating the gains in strength and dexterity. The U.S. teams went on to win a gold, silver, and bronze medal throughout the alpine skiing events.

Ralph Lauren Heating Jackets: This smart jacket was used by Team USA’s athletes during the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic games, designed to keep the athletes warm at what is thought to be the coldest Winter Games in 20 years. The Ralph Lauren branded opening ceremony parka and closing ceremony bomber jacket featured a heating system made from electronic printed conductive inks, which were printed in the shape of the U.S. flag using carbon and silver ink, allowing them to be flexible and stretchable. The jackets are water repellent, have an 11-hour heating time, and provide the user with immediate heat via a three-way control on the battery pack. The smart jackets were also available as limited edition garments for the public to purchase, which sold out in minutes at a retail price of US$2,500. Ralph Lauren is expected to use the feedback from the athletes to determine how to integrate the technology into future products for consumer and enterprise users.

NFC Visa/Lotte Payments: Similar to the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Rio, Visa had a number of near-field communication (NFC) enabled wearable payment products made available for the Winter Olympics and Paralympics. The company teamed up with South Korean retailer Lotte to manufacture the payment devices for use on one of the 1,000 NFC terminals and readers around the Olympic venues. These NFC-enabled devices included a commemorative sticker, a pair of gloves, and an Olympic pin. They work like a prepaid card, allowing athletes and fans to decide how much to load onto the devices and pay for items such as food and souvenirs.

Bluetooth Headsets: These devices were used by partially sighted athletes within the Paralympics, notably during skiing events, to allow them to communicate with their guides during the races. Information such as upcoming changes in terrain, slope conditions, and indications regarding when to turn was communicated by the guide, with the Paralympian then confirming that the information had been received. This vital communication ensured that each participant was kept safe and knew which direction they were to travel in.

In order to take advantage of the recent exposure of wearable devices at the Winter Olympics and Paralympics, wearable device companies, and other types of device manufacturers, should look into developing wearables for specific sports activities. Whilst there are some devices on the market that cater to specific sports, such as Catapult Sport’s devices that are designed to track specific activities like football players’ and goal keepers’ match data, many sports, fitness, and wellness wearables center around tracking general activity, such as number of steps. Developing devices with specific use cases will be beneficial to anyone from amateur sports enthusiasts looking to monitor their progress to professional athletes looking to improve their performance, and will help to progress the wearables market further.

Companies looking into developing wearable devices for specific sporting activities need to ensure that the device functions accurately as required, such as tracking a skater to determine their optimum position. These devices need to function accurately to ensure that users will gain the knowledge that they require to improve their performance, upgrade when needed, and recommend them to others. The companies developing the devices also need to ensure that the functions are fully advertised so that users can make an informed decision when purchasing the technology.

Those looking to use wearable devices for specific sporting activities need to fully research the technology to ensure that it provides the tracking that is required and that the correct information can be gathered from the user when required. Another important consideration is how the information from the devices will be presented. Those looking to analyze their performance after the activity are more likely to opt for a wearable that connects and uploads data to a smartphone than those looking for immediate feedback. This is because the data can be presented to the user after the activity on a smartphone, whilst those looking for immediate feedback will require the information instantly, either on a screen, via pre-set vibration patterns, or from a connected hearable. The brand is also likely to affect a user’s choice, with many professionals opting for devices from well-known wearable and device companies. Budget options are also popular among amateurs, offering them access to the technology for a reduced price compared to the well-known brands. 

With wearables becoming more pervasive in numerous markets, including in the Olympics, there are greater opportunities for a larger number of products that analyze specific activities and feed the information back to the user. With the exposure of this technology during the Winter Olympics and Paralympics, it is likely that these devices will be brought to the forefront of the mass market, leading to a larger number of consumer and enterprise users adopting the technology. Wearable devices are expected to see steady growth, with shipments increasing from 203 million in 2017 to over 434 million in 2022, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 16%. This will be driven by the increasing awareness around the technology, the growing number of devices with different use cases, and the increasing use of sports, fitness, and wellness trackers, which will see over 156 million shipments in 2022.