Development of prototypes in sport: A systematic review

Abstract

This study systematically reviewed the available scientific evidence pertaining to the different types of prototypes available, discussed their current use, and present and future applications in sports science. The electronic databases National Library of Medicine (PubMed), Web of Science™ and Scopus were searched from January 2016 to September 2021. Of the 750 articles identified, 714 articles were excluded based on title and abstract and/or for duplicates. Moreover, of the 36 articles selected, 11 articles (30.5%) were related to the development of prototypes for carrying out tactical-technical or physical performance analyzes of athletes in different sports, 22 articles (61.1%) were related to the creation of “equipment or clothing” prototypes used in sports activities and three articles (8.3%) were related to the creation of prototypes that aim to improve the technical performance of athletes. It was concluded that the development of prototypes in sport had a significant impact on the monitoring of athletes in the field of sport sciences. The prototypes provide coaches and technical professionals with the monitoring of physiological, tactical-technical, and physical parameters in real time during training and sports competitions. These parameters can be used for recognition of movement patterns and prevention of potential injuries, such as concussion and fatigue.