Smart wearables for Olympics 2016

Wearable devices such as smartwatches or fitness trackers have become an accepted phenomenon all over the world. Then, how could 2016 Olympics games escape the tech impression?

The opening ceremony scheduled for August 5th is less than a week away. This year's event, which runs through August 21st takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and will have designed wearables to make life easier and safer for Olympians as well as for others who are supposed to help in training.

Here we give you a small sneak peek of the different pieces of gear the athletes will be using this year.

Visa's NFC-enabled payment ring:

Being one of the International Olympic Committee's main business partners, Visa will be the only card accepted at official venues in Rio. Keeping that in mind, the company made a ring that will allow people to pay for things at the Olympic village simply by waving their hand.

Philadelphia University's antimicrobial suit:

The environmental researchers found pathogens in Rio's waters that include a drug-resistant "super bacteria." Hence, textile engineers at Philadelphia University have created antimicrobial suits to protect the aquatic Olympians from the hazardous waters where they'll be competing.

Though these suits won't be able to resist all of the viruses present, they'll keep some of the bacteria from hitting the athletes' bodies.

Solos smart glasses:

The cyclists participating in this year's Olympic event will get Solos, augmented reality glasses featuring a tiny heads-up display. The smart wearable, which looks a bit like Google Glass, will show cyclists key data during training, including cadence and heart rate. This wearable will help athletes improve their performance.

Nike AeroSwift and AeroBlade:

Nike is also getting ready to help track-and-field runners improve their speed with a new textile tech. The small fabric nodes will channel air around the athletes to reduce wind drag. With AeroSwift, they're part of the runner's outfit (shirt, shorts), while the AeroBlades come in a strip of tape that can be placed on the arms or legs. Because every tenth of a second counts for runners, Nike's aerodynamic tech could be the difference this time between the gold and silver medal.

Whoop Strap 2.0:

The Whoop Strap 2.0 was designed primarily for professional athletes, including U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte, who will be using it to train before Rio. Whoop's smart band is equipped to analyze strain and recovery times for athletes, along with tracking common things like sleep and heart rate.

Halo Sport training headphones:

Developed by Halo Neuroscience, the Halo Sport training headphones are intended to improve the effectiveness of people's training. These headphones will stimulate the brain to send optimized signals to the muscles. Halo Neuroscience compares the sensation to having a pre-workout meal that gets the body ready for a productive and enduring training session.