Soccer training vests that measure data.
Wouldn't it be awesome to have a device that measures the relevant metrics
of professional soccer players for their coaches to analyze? We have one good news and one bad news. The good
news is that that device already exists. The bad news is that it is really expensive and only the wealthiest
soccer teams can afford them.
Our client, a physical trainer of a juvenile Uruguayan team,
knew that. His team couldn't afford the device but that information would make his job much better.
However, he and his friend, an electrical engineer, had an idea.
"- What device that everyone
already has measures all of these metrics?
- Phones"
So they thought about a training vest
in which soccer players can insert their phone and it would measure all the needed metrics. That's when
they called us.
Our clients had an adjusted budget and weren't sure if their idea was
viable, so they told us "we have x money and we need to develop something that will, on the one hand,
validate the project and on the other attract investors".
We thought the project was awesome: it
would give everyone the chance to improve their technique in a personalized way. So we got on board with them.
As they had a tight budget, we recommended the following path to take: first we would validate the technical
specifics with investigation and tests. There were many obstacles to overcome and not any clear or simple
solutions. Once we validated the possibility of developing the app, we would create a basic MVP for them to
attract investors.
The main obstacle was dealing with the access and activation of the sensors of
each phone. The key to the project was finding an affordable way of measuring those metrics, so there
wasn't a budget to buy phones or build other devices, we would have to gather the information from the
personal players' native phone sensors. But each phone had different operative systems, preferences,
access and privacy policies, etc.
In this first stage, we gathered as much information as we could on
this topic. There wasn't much online so we had to create tests. We discovered ways to activate these
sensors remotely from the coach's phone and keep on measuring when the phone is locked. We also had to
create a GPS calibrator to reveal the error range of each phone.
The second stage was building an MVP, an app that works with basic features. We focused on making it work. As it was only for testing and they had a short budget, we didn't center in design and user experience. The app works the following way:
- Coaches create a team and the app will associate the team with a code.
- Players register with the team code and calibrate their phones with our calibrator.
- When the training begins, the coach will activate remotely the players' app and it will start measuring the relevant metrics.
- The phones will send all that data to our algorithm, it will interpret it and convert it into relevant information for the coach.
- When the training is over, the coach will remotely deactivate it in the app. All the information about each player in the practice will be sent to the coach's phone.
The app was developed with React Native and Laravel. The algorithm was made with Python.
The third stage was testing. We handed the app to our clients with instructions for them to put the app to work. Our clients are very happy with the results and are currently obtaining funds from investors interested in the app.