The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Taiwan, introduced various sports and fitness technologies in January at  CES 2023. Among the highlights: iMetaWeaR, a smart clothing technology enabling haptic feedback via multi-position electrical stimulation to create an enhanced metaverse experience for users playing virtual sports such as boxing and fencing.

Essentially, this means that users can actually feel the impact of the sports moves in their body in real time. To accomplish this, ITRI screen-printed dry, washable fabric-based electrodes into somatosensory clothing, eliminating the need for adhesive electrodes. The elastic feature means the clothing is likely to be comfortable, and the control mode allows for stimulation variations in an immersive, metaverse/virtual reality environment.

Other ITRI technologies introduced at the event included iSportWeaR, a wearable device that monitors physiological data and provides health analysis and management during exercise, and the Digital Twin for Sport Guidance with Vital Sign Sensing, a virtual coach for indoor bike and flywheel training using contactless detection technology to provide advice on breathing, biomechanics and coordination. Learn more at https://www.itri.org.tw/english/ .