STATSports has selected Taoglas to provide antenna solutions for its new Apex line of GPS-based sports performance monitors. STATSports is the leading provider of GPS player tracking and analysis solutions for some of the biggest sports franchises in the world. Teams in the English Premier League, La Liga, the National Football League, National Basketball Association and other professional sporting leagues use STATSports’ performance trackers to gather and analyze real-time player and team data during training and games to help them improve performance and strategy, and reduce injuries.
The company’s state-of-the-art Apex system consists of the Apex Pod, Apex Software and Apex Live Streaming. GPS is at the heart of the Apex device, and STATSports evaluated several GPS antenna options before finding the perfect match in fellow Irish company, Taoglas.
The AGGBP.25B from Taoglas is a 25 x 25 mm two-stage 28 dB Active GPS Patch Antenna Module that provides positional accuracy in a small form factor that is ideal for a performance monitoring solution like the Apex, which embeds the antenna in a small, fist-sized device called the Apex Pod in or under the players’ jerseys.
The Apex utilizes multiple channels and synchronized mesh networking to deliver data streams from all the players on the field to the Apex Software for analysis. It delivers GPS speed and positional data, heart rate variability, digital compass, gyroscopic and accelerometer data; transmitting over half a million numbers every minute during training and games for a squad of more than 30 players.
Highly accurate positioning is critical, and Taoglas was able to help STATSports deliver location accuracy within 1 meter. However, with that many antennas and transmissions in close proximity, interference can be an issue. Taoglas’ solution includes a front-end SAW filter in front of the two-stage LNA to reduce out-of-band noise, such as signals from nearby cellular transceivers.
STATSports’ proximity to Taoglas’ Wexford, Ireland, headquarters and development labs means the teams can collaborate easily on new functionality as STATSports develops increasingly advanced performance tracking solutions. Click here to learn more about the Taoglas Antenna used in the Apex solution.
