ITRI Introduces Sports and Fitness Innovations at CES 2023

Technologies include iSportWeaR for exercise health monitoring and the Digital Twin for Sport Guidance with Vital Sign Sensing for indoor bike and flywheel training

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Taiwan's largest and one of the world's leading high-tech applied research institutions, today announced it will introduce sports and fitness technologies at its CES 2023 booth 9855, North Hall, LVCC and its virtual event site (https://event.itri.org/CES2023). ITRI also will exhibit its innovations in sports and fitness at CES Unveiled Las Vegas, booth 213, Level 2, Shoreline Exhibit Hall, Mandalay Bay Convention Center.

ITRI's sports and fitness highlight technologies include iSportWeaR, a wearable device that monitors physiological data and provides health analysis and management during exercise; and the Digital Twin for Sport Guidance with Vital Sign Sensing, the world's first virtual coach for indoor bike and flywheel training using contactless detection technology to provide advice on breathing, biomechanics and coordination.

iSportWeaR is a smart personal health management solution for fitness and sporting enthusiasts. Featuring non-contact low-power radar technology, it can be integrated into accessories such as sunglasses and bike handle grips to provide real-time detection and continuous monitoring of physiological parameters. It accurately measures heart rate, breathing rate, and activity behavior such as cycling posture and resting status. This helps athletes better understand their health status and optimize training across various exercises such as running and cycling. Long-term usage history is logged in a personal database, which users can check anytime.

iSportWeaR also provides data for sports injury prevention. When detecting abnormal physiological conditions, it sends out alerts via the smartphone to users, helping to prevent injuries such as heat exhaustion.

The application in bike handle grips is the first of its kind in the current bike accessory market, marking a breakthrough in health-monitoring cycling solutions. ITRI worked with a leading bicycle brand to develop iSportWeaR and is introducing this technology to various pioneering product designs for additional cycling applications.

The iSportWeaR miniature module enables seamless integration into different sporting accessories, and it eliminates the need for sensors that have direct contact with the user's skin. The sensing device even works with sweat interference and through gloves, and it works indoors or outdoors, rain or shine, in temperatures ranging from 41 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit (5 to 50 degrees Celsius) and relative humidity of 10 to 90%. iSportWeaR uses Bluetooth Low Energy communication to receive and transmit signals, with measurement range for heartbeat rates of 48 to 240 beats per minute (bpm) and respiration rates of 6 to 60 bpm.

The Digital Twin for Sport Guidance with Vital Sign Sensing is the world's first virtual coach for indoor bike and flywheel training using contactless detection technology and big data analytics to provide advice on breathing, biomechanics and coordination. The system measures respiratory rate via thermal sensing and includes a depth camera for skeletal imaging and motion tracking. It analyzes the user's back, shoulders, elbows, arms, hips, and knees through image-based skeletal movements. It compares collected data with the statistics of world-class cyclists and offers real-time professional-level suggestions on breathing adjustment, motion strength, and body coordination, improving users' training experience and progress. With no monitoring wearables, users can focus more on realistic road condition simulations and enhance training effectiveness. ITRI has cooperated with world-renowned bicycle manufacturers to create powerful solutions for training athletes with the Digital Twin for Sport Guidance with Vital Sign Sensing.

Additional sports and fitness technologies that ITRI will showcase include:

• iMetaWeaR is a smart clothing technology enabling haptic feedback via multi-position electrical stimulation to create an enhanced metaverse experience for users playing virtual sports such as boxing and fencing. Dry, washable fabric-based electrodes are screen printed into somatosensory garments, eliminating the need for adhesive electrodes. The elastic feature and customized design offer high comfort, and the robust control mode allows for stimulation variations in an immersive environment.
  
  
• The Athletic Armband for Contactless EMG Detection is a capacitive electromyography (EMG) athletic armband for continuous real-time measurement of electric signals from muscles without direct skin contact. This sports armband can measure muscle strength in professional training, providing information including the order of muscle activation, the level of fatigue and injury alerts through an app. The wearable design includes flexible hybrid electronics (FHE) and redistribution layer (RDL) technologies, and the sensing distance is up to 0.3 mm.

ITRI's sports and fitness technologies are launching in the United States at CES 2023. ITRI is seeking technology transfers and business collaboration opportunities for the above technologies. Interested partners are welcome to book a meeting at https://event.itri.org/CES2023/login.

ITRI's CES 2023 online press kit is available here: https://ces.vporoom.com/ITRI. Images, fact sheets, and videos of the technologies are available here. 

About ITRI

Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) is one of the world's leading technology R&D institutions aiming to innovate a better future for society. Founded in 1973, ITRI has played a vital role in transforming Taiwan's industries from labor-intensive into innovation-driven. To address market needs and global trends, it has launched its 2030 Technology Strategy & Roadmap and focuses on innovation development in Smart Living, Quality Health, and Sustainable Environment. It also strives to strengthen Intelligentization Enabling Technology to support diversified applications.

Over the years, ITRI has been dedicated to incubating startups and spinoffs, including well-known names such as UMC and TSMC. In addition to its headquarters in Taiwan, ITRI has branch offices in the U.S., Europe, and Japan in an effort to extend its R&D scope and promote international cooperation across the globe. For more information, please visit https://www.itri.org/eng.

Media contact:
Kevin Martin
[email protected]

SOURCE Industrial Technology Research Institute