Tag Archives: sport

Motus Baseball Performance Tracker at CES

February 11, 2016ces, Interview, iOS, Special Media, sport, videobaseball, ces, CES2016, Interview, sport, videoAndrew

The availability of detailed performance information for sportsmen and women is one of the big changes in recent years. From tennis to basketball, there’s almost certainly a smart device for the sport. Motus specialise in tracking baseball players, both pitchers and batters, with a new smart sensor. Todd and Marlo find out what it takes to knock one out of the park from Jason Lamendola of Motus.

For Motus, the new sensor that comes as part of MotusBASEBALL is a great improvement over the previous generation as it’s not only smaller with a longer battery life, but it now provides data whether the player is at the mound or the plate. The only difference is that pitchers wear a compression sleeve on their arm with the sensor fitting in a small pocket, whereas the sensor fits on the back of a batting glove.

With regards to reviewing the performance stats, there’s an app for that. In fact there’s two, one for batting (Motus Batting) and one for pitching (Motus Throw), though it seems the apps are only available for iOS. The apps provide a wealth of stats in real-time, allowing coaches to identify problems and avoid injury as it happens.

MotusBASEBALL with the new sensor is expected soon and the Motus site says “early February”. Once on sale, it will be priced at US$149 which is very affordable for coaches and keen players.

Todd Cochrane is the host of the twice-weekly Geek News Central Podcast at GeekNewsCentral.com and Marlo Anderson rounds up the latest technology news at The Tech Ranch.

Become a GNC Insider today!

Support my CES 2024 Sponsor:
$11.99 – For a New Domain Name cjcfs3geek
$6.99 a month Economy Hosting (Free domain, professional email, and SSL certificate for the 1st year.) Promo Code: cjcgeek1h
$12.99 a month Managed WordPress Hosting (Free domain, professional email, and SSL certificate for the 1st year.) Promo Code: cjcgeek1w
Support the show by becoming a Geek News Central Insider

Podcast (specmedia): Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Cycloc Stores and Displays Bicycles

April 16, 2015audio, Gadget Show, Interview, sportaudio, bicycle, British Inventors Project, Cycling, Gadget Show, Interview, sportAndrew

Following British success in the sport, cycling has seen a resurgence in the UK and there are some very tasty bikes on the roads these days. Storage when off the road can be a problem though, especially in city apartments. Cycloc provides a solution to this with colourful wall-mounts which both store and show-off the bicycle. Perfect for the bijou town pad.

Cycloc’s range of products was on display at Gadget Show Live as part of the British Inventors’ Project. The latest product, Hero, cleverly uses the pedals to hold the bike to the wall. Fresh to the market, it costs a few pennies under £40. In the picture below, Hero is holding the upper bike, with Solo keeping up the lower one.

Podcast (specmedia): Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Safety First with the Babel Bike

April 14, 2015Gadget Show, Green TechnologyBritish Inventors Project, Cycling, electric bike, ev, Gadget Show, sportAndrew

Safety (or lack thereof) is one of the main reasons cited why people don’t take up cycling for commuting and with over 20,000 bike accidents in London alone in 2013, it’s a reasonable concern. To prevent the most common cycling accidents, the Babel Bike has been designed for a new era of cycling safety with innovative features including a safety cage, seat belts and integrated lights. First shown at Gadget Show Live, the Babel Bike is launching on Indiegogo today, hoping to raise £50,000.

Crispin Sinclair at Sinclair Innovation, founder of Babel Bikes explains, “Our dream is to put a million more cyclists on our roads, and therefore take a million cars off them, and to do that we need to give cyclists their safety back. As a recent report put it ‘If we can tackle the safety issue, we could open the floodgates to a new era of mass cycling participation’, and that is exactly what we hope to do and with the help of the Indiegogo community.”

The bike has a custom-built frame and seat with the rider enclosed in an advanced safety cell and seatbelt restraint. Additional safety equipment includes Front and rear lights, indicators, brake lights and rear view mirrors. No mention of wet weather gear which would certainly help with the other reason for not cycling to work in Britain.

The Babel Bike isn’t cheap at £1,999 for the pedal-powered version and £2,999 for the electric version and if you are interested get in early for the best offers at Indiegogo. Delivery is expected in May 2016.

FreeWavz Wirefree Wearable Earphones

February 6, 2015Bluetooth, ces, fitness, headphones, health, Interview, Special Media, sport, video, wearablebluetooth, ces, earphones, fitness, Health, Interview, sport, video, wearableAndrew

Bluetooth headphone are commonplace these days but usually there’s a connector between the two earphones, either as a wire or a band. The FreeWavz wirefree earphones are different, using Bluetooth to transmit the music to both earphones, so there’s no physical connection between the earphones. The earphones are smart too, as the blend between sound from the smartphone and the surrounding environment can be adjusted to match the wearer’s preferences.

That’s the “wirefree” part taken care of. What about the “wearable” bit? Aimed at the fitness enthusiast, FreeWavz aren’t only earphones, they’re fitness bands for the ears, measuring the wearer’s heart rate. As you’d expect, the data is reported back to the connected smartphone but the wearer also hears about his heart rate, calories burned, distance and steps in his ears via the FreeWavz. It’s all clever stuff and there’s more revealed in the interview.

The FreeWavz earphones are expected in the summer and are on pre-order for $219 (RRP is $249).

Interview by Don Baine, the Gadget Professor for the TechPodcast Network.

Become a GNC Insider Today!

Podcast (specmedia): Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Gripix Is An Innovative Wi-Fi Trigger System For GoPro At CES

February 1, 2015camera, ces, GoPro, Interview, Photography, Special Media, sport, videocamera, ces, CES 2015, gopro, gripix, Interview, photography, sport, videoStacey Hall

GoPro cameras have become almost ubiquitous in the outdoor tech scene, and the folks at Gripix are making it easy to capture amazing GoPro footage, both on land and in the water.

Todd got to talk with Tyler Reid, co-founder of Gripix, about the newly-announced Gripix Wi-Fi Trigger System for GoPro. Gripix uses your standard GoPro remote to create a durable, easy-to-use stainless steel mount and trigger system. Their add-ons and accessories allow you to push the limits of your GoPro even further.

The basic Gripix handle ($99) and two add-ons; the top pole ($49) and the low-pro system ($59) will begin shipping in March and are available for pre-order now.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network.

Become a GNC Insider Today!

Podcast (specmedia): Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Babolat Play Connected Racket Raises The Game

January 31, 2015application, Bluetooth, ces, Interview, Special Media, sport, videoapp, Babolat, bluetooth, ces, Interview, sport, tennis, videoAndrew

Babolat‘s pedigree in tennis is hard to beat, going right the way back to the 19th Century, when the company helped create the first racket strings. Today, it’s pushing forwards into the 21st Century with a new connected racket based on their AeroPro Drive to help both tennis professionals and keen amateurs improve their game. Don chats with Jean-Marc Zimmermann, Babolat CIO.

The Babolat Play racket looks like an ordinary racket on the outside but with sensors integrated into the handle, players now have access to a wealth of information – power level, impact position on the racket head, type and number of strokes (forehand, backhand, serve, overhead smash), top spin or back spin, all provided through a smartphone app for both Apple and Android. Incredibly, there are no sensors outside of the handle, so the racket can be treated like any other racket when it comes to match preparation and re-stringing. The racket can be taken on court for six hours between charges, which is plenty for a couple of matches, and holds over 150 hours of performance information.

The Babolat Play racket will be on sale in mid-January for $349. Two further models will be on sale; one lighter for junior players ($299) and one with a larger head (if I understand correctly), also at $349.

Interview by Don Baine, the Gadget Professor.

Become a GNC Insider Today!

Podcast (specmedia): Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

ShotTracker Basketball Performance at CES

January 26, 2015Interview, Social Media, Special Media, sport, video, wearableapp, basketball, bluetooth, ces, Interview, sport, videoAndrew

Sports such as running and cycling have been well supplied for several years with monitoring and tracking devices to record and improve performance. At this year’s CES, several other sports have become connected, including tennis with the Babolat Play racket and here basketball with the ShotTracker. Jamie and Todd chat to Davyeon Ross, Co-Founder of ShotTracker.

ShotTracker is made of 3 components: a wrist sensor, a net sensor and the ShotTracker App. The wrist sensor and net sensor work together to track shots: when a player shoots, the wrist sensor sends a signal that a shot was attempted and the net sensor sends a signal indicating if the ball made it into the basket. Both signals are sent to the mobile device via Bluetooth where the ShotTracker app keeps track of the player’s shooting stats. The wrist sensor fits into sweat band or sleeve to go on the player and the net sensor clips onto the net.

The app shows statistics (shots, makes and misses), gives workouts and helps identify on-court weaknesses. Data from multiple ShotTrackers can be aggregated into a coaching version of the ShotTracker app, giving a team view. The app is available for both iOS and Android.

The ShotTracker starter kit is on sale now for $149 from the store.

Interview by Jamie Davis of Health Tech Weekly andTodd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network.

Become a GNC Insider Today!

Podcast (specmedia): Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS