Sports.Tech brings athletes into the lab

Sports.Tech wants to connect innovative Flemish initiatives, which are now too often unaware of each other’s projects are missing opportunities to pool resources. “These different parties don’t know about each other, sometimes even if they belong to the same research centre,” said business developer Tine Van Lommel of KU Leuven’s Research & Development service.

The new network plans to bring together researchers and during the development of new products and solutions. “There is no point in having a researcher developing a product in the lab that, in the end, does not benefit the athlete because it is, say, too big or too heavy,” explained Van Lommel. “Through testing in the development phase, the researcher can get immediate and valuable feedback.”

The increased co-operation should help local athletes to improve their performances. “The technological innovations and scientific insights can also help them to prevent injuries,” said Van Lommel. “In top sport, the difference between losing and winning is often a matter of seconds or centimetres, and technology can make that difference.”