u-blox and Fitogether: Empowering sports teams and fans with data

Relied on by more than 350 football clubs in 44 countries, OHCOACH has since 2019 been delivering the highest positioning accuracy among GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) products in the Electronic Performance and Tracking Systems (EPTS) Quality Test Report conducted by FIFA, the international football organisation.

Around the world, individual and team sports are in the midst of an analytics revolution. Soccer is no exception. Reliable quantitative data on athletic performance helps coaches optimise the training of individual players, monitor their physical performance, and analyse their playing style and tactics. It also has the potential to transform the match viewing experience of fans with real-time insights into the performance of each player on the field.

The OHCOACH solution uses tracking devices that players wear on their upper backs to sense location data and transmit it to an interactive platform that can be accessed by a laptop or a tablet. Comfortable design and high data quality are vital for the solution to provide maximum value. Size and weight need to be kept minimal to avoid interfering with the players’ movements. And, despite challenging design constraints, the positioning solution needs to consistently deliver accurate data in real-time.

“As data analytics continues to gain importance in professional and amateur sports, we are committed to staying ahead of the game in terms of positioning accuracy and expanding our business through innovation, with u-blox as a partner,” said Jinsung Yoon, CEO at Fitogether.

To optimally balance comfort and performance, Fitogether’s Cell line of sports trackers, which feed the location data of tracked athletes into the OHCOACH service platform, uses one of two u-blox GNSS receivers to meet application-specific accuracy requirements: The u-blox NEO-M9N single-band standard precision GNSS module offers robust metre-level positioning. Meanwhile, the u-blox ZED-F9P multi-band high precision GNSS module delivers centimeter-level accuracy in seconds.

“Fitogether’s clients have high expectations when it comes to the data accuracy and user experience. We look forward to supporting them as they continue to develop new products and technologies for the growing market of real-time athletic monitoring solutions,” said Alex Ngi, Product Manager, Product Centre Positioning at u-blox.

“In addition to its versatile portfolio and the high positioning accuracy of its products, u-blox has impressed us with its active support and stable supply despite the strong headwinds the industry has been seeing,” added Chulwoo Park, Chief Product Officer at Fitogether.