NB-IoT Innovation: Telia’s new smart sports solution monitors Ironmen

At this weekend’s Ironman triathlon in Tallin, Telia tested a new and innovative smart sports solution to track athletes’ progress and health.

Telia and sports accessory company Polar developed the solution which transmits athletes’ data via a mobile network to a specific website or a smart device. This adds excitement and entertainment value to the competition, as the spectators can track athletes in real time, view their speed, performance and even heart rate.

Toomas Kärner, Head of IoT at Telia Estonia, says that a triathlon, where athletes have to cycle, swim and run, is a good opportunity to test the technology in different situations. As the new solution is still a prototype, it was tested on a just a few athletes whose progress could be tracked online on active.telia.ee.

“Our primary goal is to make the competition more attractive to the spectators,“ he says. “However, the possibilities of the new solution are much wider. The athletes can use their sports watch to monitor and analyze their data at any given point of the competition. Additionally, the solution will make it possible for coaches, doctors, or other relevant parties to access athletes’ data in real time. This enables quick decision-making and provides valuable advice, which may affect athletes’ performance and wellbeing”.

LTE-M and NB-IoT

The new solutions uses the latest 4G IoT mobile data standards. New technologies such as LTE-M and NB-IoT are necessary for transmitting the data using low-voltage power devices that have excellent signal strength. These devices are attached to athletes’ track suits.

Telia is the official technology partner of the Ironman competitions in Estonia. In the beginning of the summer, Telia launched the Telia Active website to promote an active and healthy lifestyle.