NBA Have the Option to Wear Oura Rings in Upcoming Season at Disney World (UPDATE)
A technology able to detect COVID-19 three days in advance.
UPDATE (June 22, 2020): It has just been clarified by a senior representative from the NBA that all wearable devices, including any rings like the Oura, are completely voluntary, and that no player will be forced to wear them.
UPDATE (June 19, 2020): Following consideration by the organizers, the NBA has now decided that all players must wear the Oura smart ring during the upcoming season that is set to resume in the coming months, taking place in Disney World. As explained before, the Oura rings can read body temperatures via three sensors, and also come equipped with an accelerometer and a gyroscope. Research so far suggests that the ring is able to predict cases of the coronavirus up to three days in advance with an impressive 90 percent accuracy. Making these rings compulsory for NBA players will greatly increase the safety of all players as well as surrounding staff members.
ORIGINAL STORY (June 17, 2020): With the NBA set to resume in the coming months, the league is proposing another option to help combat the infiltration of COVID-19 into the resumed league. Closely following data revealed by the West Virginia University’s Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, each player may have the option to wear one of Oura‘s smart rings to detect early signs of the virus.
Able to read body temperature via three sensors, the Oura also contains an accelerometer and a gyroscope. While there is no specific mention of what they will be looking at, the NBA commission reportedly mentions that only the data of players whose details rank high on the “illness probability score” will be looked into. While it is currently only being tested on 600 healthcare workers, the in-app survey is said to predict COVID-19 three days in advance with 90 percent accuracy.
In other tech news, Walmart is now looking to remove all cashiers from its stores.
Inside the Orlando bubble, NBA players will have the option of wearing a ring that could help with early detection of coronavirus; track temperature, respiratory and heart rate.
Full details on @TheAthleticNBA: https://t.co/a8IHGfnUHt
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 16, 2020
Team staff will *not* have any access to player data from the wearable ring (should any player actually choose to wear it) aside from instances in which the “illness probability score” triggers a further medical review. https://t.co/q7nk1cBzIa
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) June 17, 2020
