Qualcomm smart leggings could be a football manager's best friend

The chipmaker is not just putting its Snapdragon Wear chip into smartwatches...
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Qualcomm has been showing off a smart clothing prototype that showcases how its new Snapdragon Wear processor could be used in other wearable devices.

The smart leggings were being demoed at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and use five sensors packed into the ankle, knee and base of the spine of the clothing.

Essential reading: The biggest benefits of smart clothing

Applying the tech to the world of football, data can be sent over Bluetooth to a smartphone in real time to potentially allow the manager or coach to track positioning and posture of multiple players on the pitch. Data can also be collected all at the same time. This could help influence tactical decisions or help judge when it's time to bring somebody off the subs bench.

Qualcomm has partnered with smart clothing manufacturer AiQ, while the chipmaker's LTE-enabled Snapdragon Wear 2100 wearable processor does the brainwork. By teaming up with AiQ and its washable garments, you'll also be able to monitor biometric data such as heart rate and respiration as well.

And it's not just for football either. It could be used to improve performance in other sports and has also already been demoed as part of a smart golf clothing prototype as well.

Qualcomm only recently announced its Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor dedicated to powering wearables in the future. It's smaller and more efficient than the Snapdragon 400 processor that featured under the hood of most Android Wear watches that launched last year.

It's interesting to see that the company sees a future for its new processor away from the wrist and it could lead to some really exciting, groundbreaking wearables that are not smartwatches.

Qualcomm smart leggings could be a football manager's best friend


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Michael Sawh

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Michael Sawh has been covering the wearable tech industry since the very first Fitbit landed back in 2011. Previously the resident wearable tech expert at Trusted Reviews, he also marshaled the features section of T3.com.

He also regularly contributed to T3 magazine when they needed someone to talk about fitness trackers, running watches, headphones, tablets, and phones.

Michael writes for GQ, Wired, Coach Mag, Metro, MSN, BBC Focus, Stuff, TechRadar and has made several appearances on the BBC Travel Show to talk all things tech. 

Michael is a lover of all things sports and fitness-tech related, clocking up over 15 marathons and has put in serious hours in the pool all in the name of testing every fitness wearable going. Expect to see him with a minimum of two wearables at any given time.


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