Concept Design of Next-Generation Endurance-Enhancing Textiles for Athletes

Ayantika Roy, Muskan Agrawal, Vivek Pal, and Vivek Kant

This project aims to elevate the endurance and performance of Indian athletes by systemically comprehending the cutting-edge recovery technologies, reducing injury risks, and optimising training efficiency through advanced technical textiles for athletes and intelligent sensor systems, for which we followed a system design process.

Using the gigamap, we ideated an innovative, preventive, data-driven wearable concept that will improve the endurance of athletes by preventing overtraining through continuous monitoring of muscles, regulating body temperature, and providing real-time data and health-related information.

After performing secondary research about the stakeholders and factors that influence the sports ecosystem, we came up with five prominent systemic influencers that affect endurance at various levels: Institutions & Government Bodies, Training, Diet & Nutrition, Healthcare, and Environment. From here, we zoomed in on each of the systemic influencers in depth to get the emergent factors by applying ZIP Analysis (SOD, n.d.).

Then we established connections between various factors and identified areas where the maximum intersection of connections is found, and considered those as our intervention points. Our five major intervention points were: Recovery (Prevention), Technology (personalisation), Training (Rest), Mental Well-being (Sleep), and Nutrition (Hydration). Then we did an impact analysis where recovery was found to be the leverage point. The proposed concept of the athlete suit will enable athletes to become more independent in managing their training, endurance and performance, considering training camps and the coaching industry too.

KEYWORDS: endurance, indian athletes, hydration, nutraceuticals, sensory scientists, personalisation, overtraining, revenge effects, training, ergonomics, mental well-being, technology, recovery