Sansible Wearables, a new wearable technology for rugby players called LiveSkin, was started by two friends who met at Edinburgh University. Jack Ng and Charlie Patterson, hope that their unique technology will help to get more young kids playing the sport that they love.
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LiveSkin, is made up of slim pads that fit on the shoulders and upper arms, to help monitor and track data. It is able to track the amount of force sustained or exerted by different muscle groups in the wearer’s upper body. This data is then easily tracked and stored in their app, to be viewed in real-time, on smartphones and tablets.
Sansible Wearables co-founder Ng, feels the company is getting into this space at the right time, with a unique product.
“The big opportunity for wearables is in sport and the timing is right for our product for a number of reasons… the sector is already embracing the technology, with sports such as football… monitor their speed, orientation, GPS coordinates and a variety of other data… what we’re developing is unique… our product is doing something very different: measuring force.”
LiveSkin is able to help rugby players, during both games and practices, determine if the force they are exerting or receiving, is getting higher or lower. The app is able to store enough data that it can find patterns of performance for the individual. Their product is also able to help users gain a better understanding of how their body is recovering from injuries. Their technology is able to determine if a user is ready to come back from an injury, since their app is able to store and present data in a very user-friendly and straight forward manner, based on all past performances.
Sansible Wearables, is supported by Edinburgh University and the Scottish Funding Council-backed CENSIS, as well as a few others. They are also currently working with a few rugby clubs in the area to test their LiveSkin product. And they plan to officially make the product available to the public in less than 18 months.
Sansible Wearables and their LiveSkin technology want to work with rugby clubs at the highest levels, but they also want to help encourage more people to play, especially young kids. And they think that by adding the technology aspect that enables people to quantify their performance, it will help spark greater interest with young people.