Reebok announces partnership with smart fabric developer

Dan Rogers - 09 Dec 2010

Reebok is partnering with wearable electronics company mc10 to develop sportswear concepts.

The partnership aims to bring together mc10's flexible electronics - which include physiological sensors - in new products for athletes and sports enthusiasts.

First products are likely to arrive in 2011-12, says mc10 CEO David Icke: 'It is highly likely that, in the next 12-18 months, you will see products coming out of this partnership.'

Wellbeing

Applications are also likely to centre on wellbeing monitors. Icke explains: 'We can't speak about specific product announcements, but we're clearly interested in the performance and wellness of athletes.

'We can do physiological monitoring such as ECG for the heart, EEG for the brain and EMG for muscles, as well as a range of motion and flexibility monitors.'

The conformable electronics developers are creating high-performance electronics, such as inorganic CMOS, that are not limited by rigidity, says Icke.

The technology is a commercial spin-off from the research of the John Rogers Group at the University of Illinois.

While the developers are working on a number of projects for sophisticated applications of wearable electronics, it is likely that early commercial efforts with Reebok will centre on the consumer market.

Icke adds: 'We're looking first at relatively simple concepts that could be deployed very quickly - not targeting just the high-end athlete.'

The partnership with Reebok, part of the adidas Group, is another step for smart textile sportswear, following the launch of the adidas miCoach system in January 2010 (reported in an exclusive interview with adidas vice president Stacey Burr in +Plastic Electronics 2.6).

The miCoach system consisted of a clip-on control unit to monitor a wearer's training session, and sports vests and bras with incorporated heart rate sensors.

However the mc10 and Reebok collaboration will devise fully integrated smart textile sportswear.

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