“Bringing elite football technology to grassroots football”. In the words of its co-founder, Rafael Contreras, this is one of the objectives of Humanox, the Spanish company that has launched pioneering shin guards in the world. Smart, connected and made of carbon fiber, they just received the 2020 Reimagine Football Award to the most innovative project in its category International Football Innovation Platform.
In the awards promoted by the European Union, UEFA and the Netherlands Football Association (KMVB), among others, this sports article Designed in Puerto de Santa María (Cádiz) and manufactured in Spain, it has been imposed on another 329 companies from 38 different countries. “We are very happy and very satisfied with the recognition, especially because of the subjective element of who is behind Reimagine Football. Besides UEFA, there is the Ajax, which is a historical icon of grassroots football. Even the award itself carries the image of Johan Cruyff “, explains Contreras to this newspaper.
(embed) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSV77Mw7bk0 (/ embed)
It is not for less. In this very complicated year, marked by the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Andalusian company has achieved its first successes with an idea that came from afar … “The exercise begins by thinking about what the carbon fiber and as a football fan and the fact of having played on the bases for many years, the real possibility of its application arises together with data mining —Set of techniques and technologies that allow to explore large databases automatically — in order to democratize performance data in football, something that is not normally available to the grassroots “says the Humanox co-founder, who has more than 20 years of experience in the use of composite materials.
And is that the internet of things –IoT, a concept that refers to a digital interconnection of everyday objects with the internet — football is here to stay. It is common to see that elite footballers wear a top with a gadget that measures their performance under their jersey. A similar task is carried out by these shin guards but in a mandatory use complement for the player. In addition to providing protection, they are equipped with smart sensors that collect 50,000 raw data per user in real time, translated into 40 metrics on health and sports performance.
Also within the current health context, its commissioning with the measurement of the temperature of the soccer player. “The temperature measurement was given, but it has obviously taken on more importance with COVID-19. The humanox platform – an application that is installed on the Tabler or mobile phone – alerts you if there is a fever in the initial minutes of the game,” he says Rafael Contreras.
This data is added to those of speed, pulsations, kick force, hits received, sprinting time, heat map … All stored in the associated application and available to the player or his / her father and / or mother.
Physical and biometric characteristics of Humanox shin guards
- Carbon fiber based strength. It is a super resistant shin guard thanks to its carbon fiber manufacture.
- High shock absorption. Greater absorption and distribution of the impacts received thanks to the carbon fiber.
- Two different measures. Available in two different sizes to adapt them to any player.
- Ultralight, flexible and comfortable. Only 60 grams of weight.
- Flexible technology. The carbon fiber and the design of the electronics and sensors are HUMANOX advanced flexible technology.
- Long duration battery. Five hours uninterrupted.
- Fatigue. Calculate the fatigue and performance of the player.
- Distances and speeds. Calculate the distances traveled as well as the speed of the most interesting sections.
- Heartbeat. Monitor the player's heart rate in real time.
- Kick force. Know the power with which you hit the ball and the force of the kicks received.
- Positional statistics. View the map of positions on the field, facilitating strategic game tasks.
- Health monitoring. Take advantage of all the data to maintain health control and prevent injuries or risks.
Agreements with Osasuna and Cádiz
The 50,000 raw data recorded by these smart shin guards are sent to the device with which they are connected (computer, tablet, mobile …) through M2M technology, Machine to Machine. In the Humanox App, all these metrics are available to the player, father, mother, and / or coaching staff, as in the case of Osasuna, a LaLiga Santander club, which through its program Cantera Salud will use them with the 16,000 children of its affiliate teams. “They have been the first in Spain and the world to bet on it, have a great professionalization in their quarry “, explains Contreras. In addition, the Cadiz is another of the First Division teams that have been linked with Humanox and will use them in your first template. Surely they will not be the only ones, because the shin guards of the future are already here and they are Spanish …