PlayerData's EDGE system is currently being used by over 40 Scottish football and rugby clubs for performance analysis and load management.

Our collaboration with PlayerData began in 2018 when CEO Roy Hotrabhvanon selected i4 to develop its second generation sports fitness tracking GPS  – EDGE. The design team received the project from the concept stage, at which stage the client already had their electronics working in principal. The Edinburgh-based company had development boards underway and it was working with the team to define component positioning.

Sports teams can simply put on an 'EDGE GPS' each, complete their training or play a match, then upload the data to 'EDGE Analyst' for a full break-down of their stats. The sports fitness tracking GPS has already helped football and rugby teams from grassroots to semi-professional and academy level.

Here’s how i4pd and PlayerData collaborated on the design.

PlayerData’s mission is to transform the way grass-roots and professional sports players train, using software, analytics, gamification and wearable technology. Designed in collaboration with i4, EDGE is the company's main system, providing performance data for team. It is split into EDGE GPS and EDGE Analyst.

EDGE GPS is a data collection and monitoring tool, worn by athletes to collect physical metrics during sports sessions. Used predominantly in football and rugby, the GPS is a useful tool for collecting performance data and using it for injury management and prevention, performance enhancement and adapting training sessions to individuals.

EDGE Analyst is the accompanying app for web and mobile, which can be used as a stand-alone product or in conjunction with the EDGE GPS. It has been designed with sports teams in mind, giving clubs the ability to add players and view the whole teams’ stats together.

The EDGE GPS unit features a sleek, secret until lit display, making the entire product appear fully-integrated with a polished front and two textured sides. It features two sharp sides cutting into the front face, creating the feeling of a sharp edge on its soft aesthetic profile. When the bright single-colour vertically mounted portrait display is not lit up, it looks like it is part of the form. It also features a surprisingly strong haptic motor with a satisfying weight.

The display highlights the player's number and has a scrolling display that can show other sports performance metrics. ECG connections have also been developed so that the device can connect to a heart-rate monitor that can also be worn inside the vest.

The secondary product, the dock, took perhaps the greatest amount of development by i4. The idea was to create a form that enabled multiple docking units to be stacked vertically, also minimising their footprint. The side of the dock features a strip of lights that indicate to the user the charging status of their devices. enabled multiple docking units to be stacked vertically and charge through the stack. The side of the dock features a strip of lights that indicate to the user the charging status of their devices whilst the docking stations are stacked on top of each other.