Adidas builds NFC into racing suits for FIA authentication

Adidas Climacool
ON THE CIRCUIT: Champion Richard Lietz has been test-driving Adidas’ smart race suit

Adidas has developed a connected race suit that comes equipped with an NFC chip to confirm whether or not the product complies with current Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) regulations. In the near future each suit will also be able to provide a driver’s details such as key medical data in an emergency.

“The Smart Suits can be read and authenticated by swiping an NFC-enabled smartphone using a free downloadable app,” says motorsport driver equipment specialist Fyshe, which has developed the Adidas Climacool Smart Suits using smart tags from Otentico based on NXP’s NFC chip.

“The app shows the Smart Suit’s product details, including imagery, manufacturer, manufacturing date and homologation number and, in the near future, drivers’ details which could include key medical data. The information relating to each Smart Suit and driver is managed in the cloud.”

The Adidas Climacool Smart Suit was worn for the first time by drivers at the FIA World Endurance Championships at Silverstone earlier this month.

Possibilities

“Not only is this a cool way of knowing your race suit is authentic, but I can see the technology opening up many other possibilities,” says reigning FIA GT Pro world champion Richard Lietz. “Driver data not related directly to the clothing, such as medical details, would be an interesting development.”

“With threats of driver disqualifications at major races due to non-authentic or non-compliant suits being presented at scrutineering, the Smart Suit can help eradicate this risk and ensure driver safety,” adds Chris Nurse, founder of Fyshe.

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