Google, Adidas, and EA Collaborate to Develop New Smart Insoles for Tracking Soccer Movements and Earning Rewards

Google, Adidas and EA have jointly developed a smart pad that can connect to a smartphone and convert soccer field movements into rewards in FIFA Mobile. The smart pad uses Google's Jacquard wearable technology, which has previously been available in only two Levi's jackets and one Yves Saint Laurent dual-shoulder bag.

The product is called Adidas GMR and is now available for sale. For $40, users can buy two pads, one Jacquard tag placed in the user's dominant foot's shoe, and the other tag housed in the other foot's shoe. The tag slides into the pad's pocket and tracks body movements through a machine learning algorithm on the device. Kicking and running movements during soccer are converted into rewards in FIFA Mobile.

The GMR tag connects to the phone's Adidas GMR app. Once set up, it can be linked to a FIFA Mobile profile. Once completed, users unlock exclusive Adidas GMR events in FIFA Mobile, which brings new challenges weekly in the real world, such as a certain number of kicks or a certain amount of running mileage. There will also be leaderboards where users can see who kicks the fastest or runs the most mileage.

The battery in the tag can support two to three full soccer games. If the user uses the tag moderately, the battery lasts about a week. However, each time the tag needs to be charged, it must be taken out of the shoe, the tag removed from the pad, charged via Micro USB, and then the tag put back into the pad, and the pad put back into the shoes.