REEN: Virtual pacesetter for runner’s performance improvement.

Project Information

REEN

Grant agreement ID: 815598

DOI

10.3030/815598

Project closed

EC signature date 9 May 2018

Start date 1 March 2018

End date 31 July 2018

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

AUREEL TECH S.L.
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - REEN (REEN: Virtual pacesetter for runner’s performance improvement.)

Reporting period: 2018-03-01 to 2018-07-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Running is a very important trend in modern society, with millions of people training for improving their performance or just because of health motivations.

Along their training routines, runners need a careful and continuous control over different issues, like their pace, heart rate, speed, etc. These parameters define the quality and progress of their training and future competition marks in different format (distance) races. Currently, runners have difficulties for keeping a determinate pace rhythm leading to certain marks in their distance, with inappropriate solutions like human pacesetters (expensive and inaccurate) or current wearables (distracting runners when providing feedback). REEN is a wearable device for runners which, fixed to their waist, projects visual information on training performance over the pavement ahead in a non-invasive and accurate way. Thus, trainings are optimized with a low cost (around €250) technology comparing to current solutions with less accuracy and invasive visualization.

Our customers (runners) will take advantage of our device by achieving optimized training activities with absolute real time control of their performance related to
expected, predicted or required values on speed, pace rhythm or heart rate.

EU Global Challenges fitting: EU promotes exercise through the sharing and promotion of good practices between EU countries, encouraging activities with cross-cutting national policies in EU Physical Activity Guidelines (2008). The 2013 Council Recommendation on health-enhancing physical activity across sectors will encourage more effective policies and help monitoring progress and trends in exercise levels and policies. The EU platform for action on diet, physical activity and health4 provides a forum for tackling adverse trends. REEN will be a key assistant for achieving a correct, useful and controlled physical activity for our customers.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

In the market field, the objective was to analyse global market and sportsmen users’ KPIs along with a financial, manufacturing and sales analysis/plan. Different multidisciplinary studies were done in order to assure project’s success and determine the different insider and outsider factors that are playing a part. In this way, a market, financial, manufacturing and sales analysis/plan were done to identify the true potential revenue depending on the type of client and worldwide region we should approach. Next market steps will be USA market approach with another quality distributor.

In the product/R&D field, the objective was to design and develop a fully-functional “REEN” device and to check it with athletes. The project’s product, “REEN”, was already designed, developed and tested in the following working fields: electronics, mechanics, software, antenna, optics and APP development. Every working field had different “MVP” (minimum viable product) that were scalable upgrades in that specific field depending on iterations. Next product steps will be finishing some coding optimizations, approaching further commercial partners and finally launching it to the mass market.

In the partnership field, the objective was to achieve some new business collaborators that could be clients or projects “generators” in the future. Partnership allies were gotten like INDESCAT, a sport company cluster, and a national fitness sport machine designer and developer. Next steps will be to increase the number of common projects and partners/clients along with a partnership business strategy.

Last but not least, in the design field the objective was to give a full-detailed design to “REEN”, the company’s website and AUREEL’s sport APP. REEN’s design was improved along with new 3D visuals and CAD design. AUREEL’s website was restructured and the new images and structure were clearer than before. Finally, APP design was tested with athletes by a functional APP and the results were stunning. Next steps will be to create a technology services website based on our present developments.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

As technical improvements respect of the state-of-the-art, we took advantage of the new European GALILEO and EGNOS-augmented system features instead of traditional GPS or pedometer in order to improve nowadays gadgets, improving 100x their precision in terms of positioning and speed detection. As market improvements respect of the state-of-the-art developed a non-intrusive product for real-time training optimization, which improves athlete’s performance during the training without any distraction.

Our expected results in the future are to obtain decimetric accuracy being the best and the most pace accurate sport wearable device in the market, along with a social impact of a healthier society. Last but not least, the development of these products would increase local hiring and it would help to make Spain a sport developer referent.

What could sport wearables revenue be in the following years according to the previous ones.