GPS-Linked Training Shirt Gives Data for Runners

TrainGrid shirt and SenseBox (ESA)

A Spanish company has developed a training shirt fitted with sensors, Bluetooth transmitter, and GPS receiver to provide runners with real-time data on their performance and route, either in training or competition. The company, emxys, is a startup enterprise in Alicante, Spain, but also taking part in the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Business Incubation Centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.

The system, called TrainGrid, consists of a lightweight shirt with sensors embedded in the fabrics. The sensors gather data on heart rate, skin temperature, body position, and geo-location. The data are captured in a small (6.5 x 4 cm) device called a SenseBox attached to the shirt, which can transmit the data via Bluetooth to a nearby receiving device, like a PDA or smart-phone. The SenseBox can also be fitted with a flash memory card to capture the data for off-line processing.

ESA says emxys’s participation in the business incubator helped create other uses for this technology. Another incubator participant, EstrellaSat, is adapting the TrainGrid technology to outfit miners or forest fire fighters working in remote locations. The combination of sensors and communications can let responsible parties know, for example, if remote miners or fire fighters are experiencing medical problems or other emergencies.