Polar unveils a sensor-laden smart shirt

Polar smart shirt

Polar is going beyond heart rate sensors and fitness trackers at CES — the company has unveiled its very first smart shirt with a multitude of sensors built directly into the fabric.

Called the Team Pro Shirt, it will be offered in bulk to teams so that coaches can see in real-time exactly how hard players are working out. The data is shared wirelessly to a compatible Team Pro mobile app.

According to TheVerge, Polar’s product is a lot more comfortable than some other connected shirts, which sometimes have bulky, sensor-filled plastic boxes stuck to them or are simply too constrictive to be comfortable. That feat alone, along with the idea to offer the shirt to teams rather than individuals, could help the company make this the most popular smart shirt on the planet. And it’s not like the competition is that fierce, though there are a few serious players, namely Hexoskin, Athos and OmSignal.

Polar hasn’t mentioned how much the shirt will cost or whether a version will eventually ship to consumers — they did say that teams will be able to buy the Team Pro Shirt in March…