Abstract
Wrist wearables are becoming more and more popular, and its use is widespread in sports, both professional and amateur. However, at present, they do not seem to exploit all their potential. The objective of this study is to explore innovative proposals for the use of wearable wrist technology in the field of sports, to understand its potential and identify new challenges and lines of future research related to this technology. A systematic review of the scientific literature, collected in 4 major repositories, was carried out to locate research initiatives where wrist wearables were introduced to address some sports-related challenges. Those works that were limited to evaluating sensor performance in sports activities and those in which wrist wearable devices did not play a significant role were excluded. 26 articles were eventually selected for full-text analysis that discuss the introduction of wrist-worn wearables to address some innovative use in the sports field. This study showcases relevant proposals in 10 different sports. The research initiatives identified are oriented to the use of wearable wrist technology (i) for the comprehensive monitoring of sportspeople’s behavior in activities not supported by the vendors, (ii) to identify specific types of movements or actions in specific sports, and (iii) to prevent injuries. There are, however, open issues that should be tackled in the future, such as the incorporation of these devices in sports activities not currently addressed, or the provision of specific recommendation services for sport practitioners.
Highlights
Crabtree and Rhodes [1] defined in 1998 a wearable device as “a computer that is always with you, is comfortable and easy to keep and use, and is as unobtrusive as clothing”
”not focused on wrist devices” (e.g., [23,24,25,26]), since the wearable device used was not intended to be worn on the wrist or forearm, or because a wearable wrist device was used, but it had little significance when additional wearables were used in other parts of the body or in the equipment used in sports
This article offers a systematic review of recent studies devoted to the innovative uses of wearable wrist devices for sports-related activities
Summary
Crabtree and Rhodes [1] defined in 1998 a wearable device as “a computer that is always with you, is comfortable and easy to keep and use, and is as unobtrusive as clothing”. The media present wearable technology as a disruptive technology, which will be a major player in the consumer electronics market. According to the Statista portal [2], the wearable market grew from 28.8M units sold in 2014 to. It should be mentioned that most sales correspond to wearable wrist devices. The devices that are really succeeding in the consumer market are smartwatches and smartbands, i.e., wearables that are placed on the wrists of their owners.
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