Imagine your favorite shirt could tell you everything you need to know about your body. It would sense your heart rate, respiration and even tell you just how hard you were gripping the steering wheel when that jerk was riding your bumper in his yellow Prius on I-70.
IndyCar Series driver, Tony Kanaan, faces obstacles every time he settles into his seat; some of which are not even his competition. He knows the risks whenever he races, but one of his biggest challenges has been solved by a unique piece of wearable technology.
Drivers experience excruciating forearm cramps and numbness from excessively gripping the steering wheel. Late in races, fatigue can alter their ability to keep up with the competition. What Kanaan did not realize … he was wearing the solution. Kanaan’s largest sponsor, NTT Data, developed a “magic undershirt”. Now the shirt does not have supernatural powers, and probably will not be able to grant him three wishes, but what it will do is monitor Kanaan’s heart rate, respiration and muscle movement.
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Realizing the shirt was capable of solving his problem, Kanaan thought of an idea. During an interview with USA TODAY Sports, Kanaan said, “We’d never measured tension in my forearms before because we didn’t have a device to do it. When they came up with this, it showed me that I was squeezing the steering wheel more than I had to. It doesn’t make my car go any faster. It just wears out my forearms faster,” according to the IndyStar.com.
The shirt is made of an electroconductive polymer which senses electrical activity. Due to the fabric makeup, it has the ability to pick up the heart’s electrical activity. If you position the shirt correctly on a specific muscle, it works the same way — picking up electrical activity. Along with these capabilities, the shirt also acts as fireproof protection. Perhaps Talladega Night’s, Ricky Bobby, could of used NTT’s shirt when he thought he was on fire, “Help me Oprah Winfrey. Help me Tom Cruise!”
NTT Data’s shirt has provided Kanaan with knowledge regarding the strength necessary to grip the wheel efficiently. Kanaan says, “Those are the things the shirt has given me more knowledge about, and I’ve been able to re-adapt.”
We are ready to go. St Pete here we go. @IndyCar @CGRindycar @NTTDATAAmericas . Prontos para começar o campeonato. pic.twitter.com/xVpprxa2mT
— Tony Kanaan (@TonyKanaan) March 25, 2015
Eventually, NTT plans on relaying the the information the shirt gathers in real time back to the driver, much like the blood sugar monitor that Chip Ganassi Racing, Charlie Kimball, uses for his Type I diabetes. Kanaan likes the idea for his forearm grip. “I want this thing to be able to tell my guys when I’m using too much force,” Kanaan said. “Then they can tell me, ‘Hey, stop squeezing the steering wheel so hard.’ ”
NTT has gotten close to accomplishing Kanaan’s hopes. On April 24 before a Verizon IndyCar Series race, data engineers were able to gather information using the shirt and matching data points in the car’s telemetry and global positioning systems to show when and where Kanaan was over-gripping the wheel.
NTT Data’s vice president, industry solutions, healthcare and life sciences, Adam Nelson, believes the shirt’s ability can go further than racing. Reaching individuals in the medical field, preventing falls, aiding those at home through recovery and even monitoring patients. Kanaan also sees the untapped potential, ““For us to do that kind of stuff in the car — to have a Nomex shirt and a box to gather data — as drivers we would have a tendency to say no to something like that. But when they told me what it was for, I realized the potential of it beyond racing. This could apply someday to hospitals. That’s further down the road, but it’s one of the reasons I felt the need to do this.”
NTT Data has been active in other facets of the sporting world as well.
Two years ago in October, with the help of SAP HANA, NTT Data provided analytics to incorporate Duke University’s Men’s Basketball team’s historical archives in an app format for fans. The data was transferred using visualization tools which incorporate current team data, and historical data to mobile and web apps. “We’re looking forward to providing the greater Duke community with the ability to engage in our history and tradition like never before,” said Director of Digital Media for Duke Athletics, Ryan Craig.
NTT also signed a two-year contract with the International Triathlon Union (ITU) to become to global partner of the ITU and the ITU World Triathlon Series in 2016 and 2017. NTT will serve as, “ITU’s exclusive communications and systems integration partner.” Likewise, after paring with the PGA Open, NTT presented a 15-meter-wide video wall, which provides fans with player statistics while analyzing real time data for behind the tournament access.