Whenever it comes to sportswear, Adidas has always seemed to slightly trail behind Nike, settling for silver in worldwide revenue. However, recent market trends and patent data show they may not be settling for long. Recent patent activity for Adidas may indicate their interest in entering a new market, opening themselves up to new revenue streams in sports analytics applications. Since late April, Adidas has had two patent applications published (U.S. App. No. 20200121988 and U.S. App. No. 20200171352) possibly showing new and upcoming coaching and training technology for the sportswear giant. Meanwhile, Nike has been close to dormant in this sector, with their last application being published in April 2019.
It is worth recognizing that Nike already has a fully functioning platform in this industry, SPARQ. However, SPARQ's capabilities seem to be limited to rating only one athlete at a time, a limitation that Adidas' patent application claims show they are trying to avoid. The ability to analyze a plurality of athletes through sensors and video analysis would prove revolutionary to coaches and trainers alike, allowing them to analyze the performance of every player on the field simultaneously. In a time where sports training is becoming more analytics-driven by the day, this recent development by Adidas could aid them in finally earning their way to the top of the revenue podium. Analyze the claims of Adidas' most recent application with Patent Matrix®.
