Anna Llorella from Sweanty was one of the three speakers who took part in the last SC Trade Center Talks with the theme Women in Sports, Technologyand Innovation. During her speech, Llorella explained the project she leads skin-friendly and intelligent adhesive strips that can collect information through sweat and use it as a source of energy. The engineer explained the business project that she is promoting together with her partner, currently “living the adventure of taking it to the market and bringing it to customers to improve people’s lives”. We talked to her about the importance of innovation and technology in the sports environment, but also at a social level.
This technology is very focused on athletes, but there are also people with certain problems that can benefit from it.
Right now, we measure people’s hydration status and there are many sectors that suffer from dehydration, one of them is sports, and that is the first one we are focusing on, because we believe it is the most appropriate market to start with. The other vulnerable sectors, such as the elderly, new-borns and workers are exposed to different problems as well. We are facing more cases of dehydration every year, especially with these heat waves. Dehydration is starting to be a global problem and during the summer months it worries developed countries.
How did you come up with the idea of designing a band-aid to test sweat and treat dehydration?
We started taking notice of the technology was promising, that it was robust, and we assessed what outputs we could offer. And it offered an improvement on what was currently available, and innovative solutions. Then we saw that this was the objective and that our technology could bring a solution here that was not there now.
How is your product being accepted?
Very good, it is being a whole process, at present we are not selling the band-aid online, we are making sweat pots as a much more personalized service. It is being very gratifying for customers because they all notice a great improvement after using it and perceive what mineral salts and what hydration they need after competition and training. When you see that they reach the finish line in better conditions, happier, with better marks and avoiding health risks, it gives you a great satisfaction.
How does this widget work?
At present we go to the training place, take a sweat sample and with this sweat sample and precise data we make hydration plans. These hydration plans are only preventive measures that ensure good hydration throughout the sports practice. In a few months we will launch the first extensible product on the market. It will be a band-aid placed on the mobile phone, where data will be collected for later reading. The information and how much water and how much salt has been lost will be reflected on the mobile phone to make tailor-made plans.
In which sports is the sweat test recommended?
There are some sports in which the use of the band-aid is more indicated than others. Especially those sports of high intensity and long durations. If we talk about disciplines, we could talk about trail running, marathons… we have many clients who are triathletes. An effort between an hour and a half or two hours makes sense to use the band -aid because when you plan after, it will be better noticed.
What do you think about this kind of initiatives that talk about women and sport and in this case innovation?
We are very grateful. These types of events and recognitions are what give us strength. When you carry out a project like this you go through ups and downs, but we must continue with persistence and fighting. This support and recognition help us a lot. There are also fewer women in this world, both in sport and in business and it is good that we make ourselves visible to be an example for others.
What do you think of the SC Trade Center facilities?
It seems to me that there are many companies and I perceive a lot of information about the activities that are carried out, so it must be a busy place.
