Teague and Nike recently teamed up to work on a rather interesting concept: the Athlete's Plane, an airplane interior designed specifically for professional athletes. For a moment, put aside both the unrelatability of a specialty vehicle designed for millionaire Adonises, and the memories of your own cramped air travel experiences, and check out how Teague and Nike addressed an unusual set of needs with technology and design.
First off, the unusual needs in question. The first reason these specific passengers are a bad match for conventional airplanes is because pro athletes these days are frickin' huge. Even a first-class seat is not going to be a good fit for a Tony Picard, and Tyson Chandler is not stretching out comfortably on your average lay-flat seat-bed.
Second, regardless of the sport, all pro franchises and college teams know the hell that is the away game. The hour-long bus rides familiar to high school athletes pale in comparison to what an airplane will do to your performance. As the Teague research cites, "Studies prove that home-field advantage is actually a lot less about the effects of raucous crowds and a lot more about the negative effects of travel, which create an "away disadvantage." [One study] confirmed that motor function measurably deteriorated in athletes after air travel and then lingered for roughly the same number of days as the number of time zones crossed. That's bad news if you're an athlete traveling from the West Coast to the East Coast on a Friday for a Sunday game."
With these issues in mind, Teague and Nike designers and training experts set about devising "four areas of performance innovation that are not addressed by commercial charters:"
Recovery: equalizing the negative effects of air travel on the mind and body, and bringing the training room to 40,000 feet through in-flight biometrics and analysis to accelerate injury diagnosis and treatment.
Circulation: fostering natural mobility and building in equipment that ensures optimal circulation and promotes healing.
Sleep: designing ideal sleeping conditions for individuals and sleep strategies for entire teams to maximize physical readiness.
Thinking: creating spaces for key mental activities, especially film study--enabling in-transit film review both before and after games.
Here's what they came up with, captions theirs:
As soon as the athletes board they begin receiving information on their physiological state post-game.
Athletes can use ice and compression sleeves that plug directly into the airplane's system; the seats are also designed to allow independent elevation of both legs.
After players wrap up their medical-recovery needs, they can head back to their seats that allow for full, lying-flat sleeping for anyone up to 7 feet tall.
Performance information is available on the seat-back monitors through the wearable technology provided in an athlete's footwear, apparel and accessories worn during games.
The lounge in the lower lobe is available for athletes who prefer not to sleep after a game and like to decompress a little more socially.
Want to ride in one of these things? All you have to do is qualify for the next NFL draft, which means you've got a little under a year to get into shape.
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