You can be an "Aquaman" or maybe a swimming "Iron Man" for real!
Swimgear manufacturer of Speedo has introduced a design concept for what it envisions as the swimsuit of the future. And yes, it looks a lot like those superhero characters.
Speedo Swimsuit Fastskin 4.0 Focuses on Speed Performance, Customization and Sustainability
The swimsuit, which Speedo calls "Fastskin 4.0," is a concept creation of the company's research and development team called "Aqualab." Its design is concentrated on speed performance, customization, and sustainability, Gizmodo reported.
According to Swim Swam, Fastskin 4.0 is entirely customizable to the athlete's every muscle, micrometer and color preference. This will be crafted using 3D and bioengineering printing and artificial intelligence (AI) and will offer customizable compression and adaptive buoyancy.
Speedo is looking at 3D printing every suit to custom fit the athlete's body. Its fabric is also planned to be produced by bioengineering modified bacteria, making it 80 percent biodegradable. Moreover, the suit will feature an "Adaptive Smart Lock Seal" which lets athletes wear it easily, allowing them to customize its compression at the neck, wrist, and ankle.
A Daily Mail report said that the suit could allow swimmers to race faster by four percent by 2040.
The suit will also offer the Shark Skin 4.0 Boosters texture, which adapts to the athlete's movement to "direct water off the suits and maximize propulsion from every stroke or kick." Dynamic Flow Zones on the area covering the stomach and the back of the legs are based from a whale's underbelly to lessen drag and water separation, the Daily Mail added.
There are Core Reactors, gold fixtures at the front and back of the suit to become that "real" Iron Man, responding to the swimmer's position in the water while "adjusting buoyancy," Gizmodo shared.
Fastskin 4.0: AI Detecting Vitals, Live Coaches Athletes Mid-Race
AI detects vitals while live coaching the athletes as they race, which is an awesome tool for a swimmer to proceed as swift as possible with an ideal technique at the right pace. To support this, the suit has a built-in exoskeleton that helps boost the swimmer's speed, a bioengineered texture that duplicates shark skin to get that optimal flow while in water, Swim Swam further posted.
Athletes could also power these sensors since the suit has Energy Harvesting Fabric, which allows it to power itself as it uses smart yarn that converts every race into energy and then enable the AI system.
According to Speedo's head of research and development, Dr. Rob Blenkinsopp, as reported in Swim Swam, Fastskin "has taken inspiration from the...natural world to outer space," bringing together technology that has been in development for over two decades. The company said it had "looked at everything from fabrics and textures to how we integrate intelligence in our suits, and the result is Fastskin 4.0."
Blenkinsopp further said, "The future is about to get very fast."
Speedo certainly knows where they stand, having developed the present LZR, Pure Intent, and LZR Pure Valor swimsuits. Since 2019, these Speedo suits are behind the breaking of 62.5 percent of all world swim records and is definitely set to be worn by competitors in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
