Miami Hurricanes using military technology to track team’s fitness

The Hurricanes are utilizing technological innovation created for the armed forces to consider to achieve an edge on their opponents.

Miami’s football crew is applying an superior fitness tracker referred to as the Warfighter Monitor, intended by defense contractor Tiger Tech Methods, to check their players’ exercise routines this spring and summer months.

“It’s a one of a kind chance,” reported Eric Renaghan, Miami’s director of athletics science. “We’re the only athletics group in the region that has obtain to this technological innovation, so it puts us in a pretty unique state of affairs the place we have a competitive benefit over any other staff in the county ideal now.”

Renaghan reported the observe, which UM gamers put on on their arms, appealed to him in component because it has a single-lead electrocardiogram, which separates it from other wearable health displays like Apple Watches and Fitbits. The keep an eye on also collects facts on respiration charge, system temperature and pulse oximetry.

“An Apple Check out, you can achieve your hand on the other facet and contact the enjoy and get an electrocardiogram,” Tiger Tech Methods CEO Harrison Wittels said. “We’re essentially the initially system in the environment that can do that from a solitary limb. Why that’s critical is since that is the only way to get true heart rate.”

Wittels is a Miami native, so when the opportunity to operate with the Hurricanes arose, he jumped at it.

“When I was in high college, there was no greater crew in the nation,” Wittels reported. “I’m pretty absolutely sure the University of Miami Hurricanes staff would’ve beat most professional teams. … It’s a storied franchise. It carries as much mystique with it as some pro franchises, to be truthful. So it is further than exciting.”

The Hurricanes are the only sports activities crew — school or expert — presently applying the Warfighter Observe.

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“Miami’s my hometown and it was just a great option to get the job done jointly,” Wittels reported. “We had a lot of other chances, to be trustworthy, but it was just kind of in our backyard.”

Renaghan, who is UM’s initial director of athletics science, stated the amount of details his division can pull from the displays is “not even close” to facts accessible from industrial health trackers.

“I assume that the key big difference amongst all those is the form of information and facts that is getting pulled is immediately calculated, as opposed to possessing other metrics act as surrogates for what people today simply cannot evaluate with some of those pieces of technology,” Renaghan stated. “For us, becoming equipped to pull individuals immediate actions and genuinely have accuracy as it relates to the response that our athletes are getting is pretty much a match-changer for us.”

Miami is also using the body temperature information to make sure none of their players go through from heat exhaustion or heat stroke though performing out in hot, humid South Florida weather conditions.

“I consider a single of the key pieces of info for us, especially in Miami, being how very hot and humid it is, is to avoid warmth injuries and be equipped to look at the overall body temperature of the athlete and see how coronary heart rate is currently being impacted from the load,” Renaghan explained. “[It] makes it possible for us to pull an athlete out if we want to, to make confident that they really don’t knowledge a warmth personal injury and I imagine the major detail for us is definitely working with this info to strengthen our determination-producing method.”

Renaghan reported Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal, energy and conditioning coach Aaron Feld and the relaxation of the UM staff have been receptive to all the data his department has been accumulating. The information and facts allows the Miami staff members to alter techniques and exercise routines to ideal suit players’ wellness and improvement.

“Those factors that we’re obtaining from that data are not obtainable to any other staff in the country,” Renaghan claimed. “For us, as a team, it’s allowed us to genuinely establish the advancements in our athletes, and for what we do, which is the most vital factor to definitely see if our programs are undertaking what we envisioned them to do by measuring and it lets us to make improvements in which we require to.”