The world is constantly evolving, and new ideas for future innovations keep springing up almost every day. You’d notice that the rate at which technology moves is nearly impossible to keep pace with as human needs change every minute. For instance, if you think you have the latest Apple product today, you’d be surprised that there’d be another one with even higher specs and new capabilities in less than a year. In a bid to make life easier, the world of technology keeps churning out innovations that produce edge-cutting solutions across every industry in the world. From the medical sector to the employment industry, the banking industry, commerce, and sports sector, every major industry in the world is fast embracing new devices, software, and structures that are fast-improving and simplifying the status quo mode of operation.
Though the rate at which tech solutions are embraced has always been on the rise, the need for these solutions seems to have increased dramatically since the COVID-19 pandemic struck alongside its compulsory lockdowns and social distancing. Since COVID, technology trends, such as telemedicine, machine learning, artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, and Robotic Process Automation (RPA), have witnessed more adoptions and transformations than ever before.
Today, the global sports industry is one of the biggest and fastest-growing sectors with a growth rate faster than the global GDP and worth over $600 billion. Sports like football, cricket, tennis, horse racing, hockey, etc., are enjoyed by people worldwide – with millions of fans following their favorite teams and competitions either physically in stadiums or virtually from TVs or mobile devices. India has always been home to various sports, cricket being the country’s number one obsession. Cricket is played everywhere across the country and has the most prominent sports league – the Indian Premier League (IPL).
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Over the years, the global sports industry has enjoyed major positive influences from the world of technology. From allowing fans to view matches from the comfort of their homes and helping coaches to analyze performances better to enabling referees and umpires to make accurate decisions, the industry has a lot to thank technology for. However, the evolution of the world of sports via technology doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. Technology is changing the world super-fast, and the sports industry has more to look forward to.
Though it may be difficult to predict the future, we will explore major future-based innovations revolutionizing the world of sports in this article.
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AI and wearable technology for easy analysis of athlete’s performance
Gone are the days when an athlete’s performance had to be evaluated by mere human eyes. This has made it difficult to capture and analyze data accurately over the years. Through the help of wearable technology today, devices such as Fitbit smartwatches have made it possible to track a player’s heart rate, muscle activation, sleep patterns, distance covered, calories, breathing rate, temperature, etc.
These data’s high precision and accuracy can help athletes know precisely how they are faring regarding their health and physical fitness. Apart from health evaluation, players can use the gathered data to improve their performance and productivity during training sessions.
Another part of wearable technology includes ‘smart clothes.’ These can consist of jerseys, socks, and shoes customized with GPS trackers and sensors; they can help track a player’s performance, disperse heat & perspiration, aid with grip & movement, and help make a player more comfortable on the field or track.
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Digitalization and virtual reality for optimum fan experience
Tech innovations are not limited only to tracking a player’s performance; they have also provided new opportunities for fans worldwide to enjoy their favorite sports more comfortably. Gone are the days when fans were limited to watching sports tournaments on the TVs. With what we see today and predictions for the future, digitalization has provided many options for fans to follow their favorite sports without being present on the field. With the availability of hi-speed internet connections such as the 5G, people can now stream live matches from anywhere using their phones, laptops, tabs, and other mobile devices.
This part of technology came in handy during the Coronavirus pandemic – even though fans were banned from attending live stadiums, they could experience live actions from their homes. Also, Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) has provided fans with outstanding opportunities to share life-like and 3D sports experience outside of real-life stadiums. These technologies enhance the interaction of fans with sports activities – allowing them to feel as though they are part of the action.
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Video-assisted referee (VAR)
Maybe once or more in the past, we have seen poor and costly judgments made by referees as there is a limit to what they can see in the course of action. However, new technologies have emerged to control these referee-prone errors. Some years back, FIFA introduced goal-line technology to help increase the referee’s accuracy in judging controversial goals. Later, the VAR was introduced as a higher-level virtual assistant to the referee. Ever since it was first tested in a live match, the VAR has proved to be very accurate in analyzing game-changing decisions like offsides, playing time, penalties, fouls, red card offenses, goal validity, etc., in football.
This technology is widely used across major football competitions, including FIFA, Bundesliga, Premier League, La Liga, Champions League, etc.
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Safety equipment to reduce head injury
In past years, safety used to be a major concern in sports as athletes could easily suffer severe career-threatening injuries. However, technology is doing all it can to make sports safer in various ways. One of these ways is the innovation of the smart helmet – a wearable designed to prevent and manage head and neck injuries by reducing collision impact.
As digitalization expands and we expect the super-fast 5G network to become more accessible, the sports betting industry will also witness more growth and expansion in the coming years. More people will get involved in sports betting as bookies will create new opportunities and solutions for punters to have a more seamless betting experience. Parimatch is one of the betting companies always working to stay ahead of the future – with a variety of wagering options, including live bets, virtual sports, e-sports, etc.
Conclusion
From wearables and VR-influenced sports interactions to digitalization and VAR, technology is drastically reshaping the face of sports globally while promising more groundbreaking innovations to come in the next few years. As we look into the future of sports, we can only look forward to enhanced player performances, safer playing conditions, optimized fan experiences, and top-level officiation of games via the new solutions that tech will provide. Visit Parimatch for a fantastic betting experience.
