Feature Request / Idea: Indoor Sports Tracking with Smartphone or Beacon System?

[Ecki D.]

Hi all,

I’ve been reading about the new track features for Suunto Run, which got me thinking about indoor sports. My local ice rink is going to be indoors soon, and I realized I’ll lose the ability to track distance, speed, etc. with my Suunto when GPS is unavailable and step counting doesn’t really work for skating. The same goes for sports like laser tag, indoor soccer, etc.

Idea:
Could Suunto watches support some kind of indoor positioning system using external beacons? For example, you could place old smartphones or Bluetooth/WiFi beacons at the corners of a rink or sports hall. The watch could use the signal strength or time-of-flight from these fixed points to estimate its position, similar to how indoor navigation works in malls and museums.

I know pro sports sometimes use UWB tracking, but that’s expensive and not really feasible for individual users.
It would be awesome if Suunto could enable something like this for everyday athletes who want to track indoor sports more accurately.

[Alonzo]

@Ecki-D. Cool idea!
I’d be happy even with a “smart” chest strap if Suunto will bring one to the market.