Feldspar unveils world’s first surface-based force measurement platform, announces engineering partnership and opens capital raise
Patent-pending technology, engineered with Cambridge Design Partnership (CDP), uses a novel triangular force plate architecture to capture real-time ground force data directly from the sports surface at scale.
London, UK, 22 April 2026: Sports technology company Feldspar Group Holdings Limited (“Feldspar”) has developed a patent-pending prototype of its world-first surface-based force measurement platform, capable of capturing real-time data directly from the surface at scale.
The platform is designed to scale beyond athletics into multiple sports and live-event environments, setting a new standard for performance measurement and unlocking new insights across coaching, live broadcasting, and fan engagement. Feldspar has opened its first external funding round to support pilot deployments and accelerate commercial rollout.
Bringing force measurement into live performance
For decades, force data has largely been confined to specialist laboratories using expensive, fixed equipment. While cameras and wearables dominate modern performance analysis, they cannot directly measure the forces that drive movement and performance.
The platform captures ground reaction forces directly from the playing surface, delivering full three-dimensional data from every footstep. This provides a direct view of how athletes generate speed, power and movement.
At the centre of the system is a triangular force plate with a novel architecture that introduces a fundamentally new approach to measurement. Rather than directly measuring every force component, the system derives the horizontal force from the vertical force. This simplifies system design, potentially reduces cost by up to ten times compared with traditional force plates and makes deployment at scale commercially viable.
By integrating the system directly into the surface, Feldspar enables measurement across entire environments rather than at isolated points, while removing the need for repeated setup and manual operation. This enables near-instant deployment, continuous real-time data capture, and immediate feedback via a live dashboard.
For coaches, it enables continuous monitoring and instant feedback. For broadcasters, it opens new ways to integrate live performance data into coverage, enhancing fan engagement.
Built for scale, beyond athletics
The initial pilot will focus on athletics, where the system can be deployed across full tracks to measure multiple athletes simultaneously in both training and competition. The platform is designed to scale across sports and live environments allowing up to 40 players to be tracked on a single surface such as a football field.
The application extends to high-speed field sports such as football, American football and rugby, as well as court sports including padel, basketball and squash, with flexibility for both permanent and temporary deployment, creating a new layer of standardised, real-time performance data across sport.
As data scales, the system supports the development of a unified AI-powered data platform, enabling benchmarking, injury risk detection and predictive performance insights. The updates mark a major step towards a fully integrated, scalable sensing platform.
This builds on Feldspar’s 2025 announcement of its first functional prototype, the world’s fastest sensor-enabled track and its partnership with global sports and entertainment agency 54.
Groundbreaking partnership
The system is being developed in partnership with Cambridge Design Partnership (CDP), a leading, employee-owned product development consultancy known for creating "first-of-a-kind" innovations and for its multidisciplinary team of over 300 engineers. CDP specialises in delivering complex, high-reliability systems across multiple sectors, including real-time performance technologies such as Gmax, an advanced, lightweight GPS tracking system used in horse racing to provide live data on performance, positioning, and safety.
For this project, CDP brings together expertise across physics, electronics, software and manufacturing to translate advanced science into a robust, user-centred product, supported by its integrated Pilot Production Centre for building and testing the track. The partnership is focused on designing for manufacture and preparing the technology for real-world deployment as it transitions from prototype to pilot scale.
Capital raise
This first external funding round aims to accelerate go-to-market activities and move from pilot deployment towards commercial rollout. The funding will support further product development, pilot programmes, and early commercial activity, following foundational backing from a Hong Kong family office.
Alvina Chen, Founder and CEO of Feldspar,
“Until now, most systems have inferred movement from camera footage, without directly measuring the forces athletes generate through the ground. With Feldspar’s world-first system, currently in prototype, embedded in the playing surface, we capture those forces in real time, exactly where movement starts. This allows us to see how athletes generate force to accelerate, change direction, jump and produce speed and power, transforming how performance is understood and how sport is experienced.”
Wade Tipton, CEO, Cambridge Design Partnership (CDP), said:
“Capturing data directly from the ground at scale has not previously been possible. In close collaboration with Feldspar, our team has designed, developed, built and tested a world’s first force measurement system integrated directly into the surface, marking a significant engineering step with the potential to transform athletics and multi-sport applications.”
Tim Godfrey, Executive Director and Board Member at Feldspar, added:
“Following our earlier work on a modular, sensor-enabled track prototype, this force-plate system marks the next phase in building a data-driven performance infrastructure. It lays the foundation for a new data layer in sport, capturing performance at scale and unlocking applications across athlete development, live broadcast innovation and new commercial models. This is not just about measurement - it is about redefining how performance is understood, experienced and monetised across sport”
For more information including product visuals, visit feldsparsport.com
ENDS
IMAGES:
For hi-res imagery of the Feldspar technology please click here
Notes to Editors
The Universal Sensor Platform is built on a highly scalable architecture, with an underlying communication protocol designed to support large-scale connected deployments. It captures high-frequency force data, over 1,000 Hz, including centre of pressure and 3D force profiles, simultaneously across up to 200 sensing platforms, each comprising multiple sensors.
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About Feldspar Group Holdings Limited
Feldspar is a UK-based sports technology company developing the world’s first integrated smart flooring system, beginning with high-performance running tracks and force measurement across entire tracks.
Founded in 2022 by Alvina Chen, a former professional track athlete, Feldspar was created with a mission to enhance performance and elevate fan engagement across sports. Its platform captures real-time data directly from the surface of play, enabling new insights for athletes, coaches and live sports environments.