Feldspar and Cardiff Metropolitan University launch pilot bringing revolutionary real-time performance data at scale to elite athletes

Industry first: pioneering partnership gives sports scientists access to continuous, immediate ground reaction force data during actual movement, across the surface, including tracking centre of pressure across interconnected sensor modules

World's first intelligent sports surface to provide athletes, coaches and researchers with immediate access to 50 biomechanical performance metrics during real world training

Cardiff, UK, 19 October 2026: Feldspar, developer of the world's first modular platform for continuous, real-time force measurement across sports surfaces, has partnered with Cardiff Metropolitan University (CMU) to launch an ambitious 18-month pilot of its intelligent sports flooring technology at the National Indoor Athletics Centre (NIAC).

The collaboration will explore how continuous, real-time biomechanical data captured directly from the sporting surface can help better understand performance, monitor athlete development and support recovery.

Feldspar has installed 60 metres of its groundbreaking, independently tested, World Athletics-compliant* running track, including a 20-metre, fully instrumented section incorporating 156 modular force plates equipped with Feldspar's proprietary embedded sensor technology.

The system measures more than 50 variables that can inform the coaching process, improve performance and identify injury risk. Among them are force production, contact time, stride characteristics, asymmetry, loading patterns and speed development; all of which are delivered near-instantly.

The installation represents one of the most advanced applied sports science environments in the world. Rather than relying on cameras, wearables or isolated force plates, Feldspar's intelligent surface captures athlete-ground interactions directly beneath every foot strike. The patented system triangulates data to within one square centimetre and delivers immediate feedback through a cloud-based platform that can be securely accessed remotely from anywhere in the world.

Exploring how continuous, real-time biomechanical data captured directly from the sporting surface, the programme will examine the validity, reliability and practical application of the technology, and could transform performance across multiple sports.

The project also represents an important commercial milestone for Feldspar as it continues to scale its technology following successful international deployments and seeks to accelerate adoption across elite sport.

Alvina Chen, Founder and CEO of Feldspar, said: "For decades, the most valuable biomechanical data in sport has largely been confined to laboratories, specialist equipment and time-intensive analysis. We believe the future is different: the training environment, and ultimately live competition itself can become the measurement system.

"This collaboration is an important step towards that future. By bringing continuous biomechanical insight into everyday training, we want to help understand performance in ways that simply haven't been possible before.

"The work undertaken over the next 18 months will help shape not only what this means for the future of athletics but how movement can be understood across a variety of sports and other environments where understanding human performance matters."

Feldspar's leadership team includes Olympic gold medallist and elite sprint coach Darren Campbell MBE, former Team GB Chef de Mission Mark England OBE, former SailGP Head of Platform Engineering Phil O'Grady, and Executive Director Tim Godfrey, formerly at Formula E, SailGP, alongside board members including Premier League executive Andrew Haworth and former SailGP Chief Technology Officer Warren Jones.

Campbell, who joined Feldspar as Global Track Strategy Director, said: "Elite coaching relies on understanding what an athlete is actually doing, not simply the outcome. Coaches have always worked from a combination of observation, experience and fragmented data sources. Feldspar has the potential to bring those elements together in a more meaningful way.

"Having access to detailed force, movement and loading information immediately after every repetition creates opportunities to make better-informed decisions in the moment. That can help accelerate development, support rehabilitation and ultimately help athletes spend more time training and less time managing preventable setbacks."

The installation will be available to athletes from CMU, national governing bodies across the UK and selected external programmes, creating opportunities to generate one of the most extensive datasets of athlete movement and performance ever collected from an instrumented training track.

The research programme will be overseen by Professor of Sport Biomechanics at Cardiff Metropolitan University, Gareth Irwin. He said: "What makes this installation particularly significant is its potential to bridge the gap between laboratory-grade measurement and everyday training environments.

"Traditionally, obtaining detailed biomechanical information has involved multiple technologies, specialist interpretation and significant processing time. Feldspar offers the opportunity to collect rich force and movement data continuously, across an instrumented surface, and provide meaningful feedback almost immediately."

Irwin, one of the world's leading authorities on sports biomechanics, added: "The collaboration provides an excellent opportunity to examine the scientific validity, reliability and practical application of the technology. Our focus will be athlete-centred, coach-led and research-informed, ensuring the insights generated robust and highly impactful."

Innovation extends to the track surface itself, which is engineered to optimise human performance, with the aim of helping athletes accelerate faster, sustain maximum velocity for longer and reduce impact on the body.

The announcement follows recent testing of Feldspar's technology with world-class athletes, including US sprinter and 4x100m Relay World Champion Tamari Davis, who highlighted the benefits of real-time feedback.

In a recent video documenting her experience with the technology, Davis said: "Running on the Feldspar track felt like I was running on a cloud, just free and happy while running fast. Every step felt soft and explosive.

"Having the data immediately when you step off the track is something I've never experienced before. It was really cool to see all the data pop up straight away.

"It's going to be such a big difference because coaches can see exactly what happened and help make adjustments straight away instead of waiting days to get the information back. I haven't seen too much innovation until today. This is amazing and so good for the future of our sport."

For more information, visit feldsparsport.com

*tested by World Athletics-affiliated SportsLabs and confirmed compliant with World Athletics certification standards.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Media are invited to express their interest in experiencing the technology first-hand during a dedicated demonstration session, including access to athletes, coaches, researchers and Feldspar executives, including a live demonstration of the surface's capabilities.

Contact

Nick Nixon
nick.nixon@weare54.com
+44 7467 743950

About Feldspar

Feldspar is a UK-based sports technology company developing the world's first integrated sports surface system, combining high-performance sports flooring with embedded force measurement technology and real-time performance data.

Founded in 2023 by former professional athlete Alvina Chen, Feldspar's technology captures real-time biomechanical data directly from the surface of play, enabling new and immediate insights for athletes, coaches, sports scientists, broadcasters and fans.

Combining intelligent sports surfaces, continuous biomechanical data and AI-drive analytics, Feldspar's platform is designed for applications across athletics, football, rugby, basketball, tennis, squash, padel and other sports, transforming how human movement is understood, with broader applications spanning athlete development, rehabilitation, health and human performance.

About Cardiff Met

Cardiff Metropolitan University has five academic schools across two sites in Llandaff and Cyncoed, in the city of Cardiff. Areas of study include; art and design, sport & allied health sciences, teacher training, business and law, engineering and computer sciences.

The University has around 15,000 on-campus students and 19,000 students following programmes of study with 12 collaborative partners across the globe.

Cardiff Met is a leading modern university that is distinctive and progressive, with a strong focus on student experience and outcomes, innovative professional partnerships, and significant local, national and global reach. Our applied research and innovation positively impacts lives and communities in Wales, the UK and the wider world.

Cardiff Met won the 'Outstanding Contribution to Environmental Leadership' award at the Times Higher Education Awards (THE Awards) 2025.

The University is ranked first in Wales and 10th in the UK People and Planet's University League 2025/26.

Cardiff Met was the first University of Sanctuary in Wales, offering Sanctuary Scholarships to at-risk undergraduate and postgraduate students and academic staff.