Google is teaming up with Adidas and EA sports to make smart football kit. The “Adidas GMR Insoles” is powered by Google’s second-generation Jacquard tag. It is designed to track how well an athlete performs on the pitch and translate that into stat boosts for their team in the FIFA mobile game for Android and iOS.
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Adidas’s Japanese language twitter reported the news first. It shows a video of the small Adidas-branded Jacquard tag being slotted into a pink insole, which then activates a pink light.
“A smart insole placed within any adidas footwear powered by a Jacquard Tag, uses advanced machine-learning algorithms enabling adidas GMR to recognize the actual physical movements footballers make on-pitch including measuring kicks, shot power, distance and speed,” reports Adidas.
Jacquard has previously been used in a Levi’s jacket and a Yves Saint Laurent backpack but judging by the new teaser, it looks like Adidas is the next brand to incorporate the smart tech feature in its clothing.
“The connection to FIFA Mobile allows players to complete unique challenges and hit milestones each week, including improving their Ultimate Team Overall (OVR), unlocking in-game rewards and ranking in global leaderboards. The more they play in the real world, the better their EA SPORTS FIFA Mobile Ultimate Team™ becomes. Through the support of FIFA eFootball & Gaming, the GMR project is able to enhance the experience for players of FIFA Mobile around the world, becoming an innovation that leverages technology to improve the experience of football fans,” says Adidas.
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The Adidas GMR will be available online at adidas.com/gmr and in select Adidas stores for $35 (£30 or about AU$60).
