LED Rabbit tech enhances training for track athletes
May 16, 2017 | Meghan LeVota
A new Lenexa-based tech firm aims to make training for track and field athletes more precise.
Founded in 2015, LED Rabbit is an electronic pacing system that can attach to or overlay any track. The product uses LED lighting to move a marker around a track, offering runners an indicator of what their pace needs to be.
“Coaches typically go through lot of pain developing specific work outs and they use a stopwatch to make sure athletes are on the correct pace,” said Barry Vonada, founder of LED Rabbit. “With LED Rabbit, a coach could be in his office before practice starts, program a complete workout within our mobile application, and then launch the workout. The system takes care of the rest.”
With expertise in LED lighting, sales and engineering, Vonada said the idea came after talks with his daughter, who is a collegiate track and field athlete.
“One of her coaches came to her and was telling her about all the problems they have with training,” Vonada said. “I thought to would be nice to add some LED technology. Any technology in general would be better than a stopwatch and yelling ‘start and stop.’”
After previously trying to secure a patent, Vonada discovered that a similar technology was already being used by Italy-based Indico Technologies. On Friday, LED Rabbit announced that it gained exclusive license to use the technology.
Vonada said that he is relieved to have reached an agreement with Indico Technologies.
“By securing the patent and technology rights, we can now focus our energy on launching The LED Rabbit into the North American market,” Vonada said. “The expertise that our two companies share in LED Lighting Systems coupled with our passion for sports will spawn many new developments in the future.”
The tech will hit the market this fall, targeting high school and collegiate teams. Vonada said he’s focused on securing funding to hire a team and manufacturing the product.
He is confident that, with the help of the Kansas City community, LED Rabbit has a bright future.
“I’ve started to get in a lot of exciting conversations and getting to know people in Kansas City’s startup community,” Vonada said. “It has been really cool for me because I’ve lived in the area forever and I love that the community is really embracing tech startups.”
Watch a video of the LED Rabbit in action below.
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Investor dinners, KC hospitality garner praise at Rise of the Rest Summit
Kansas City’s hospitality recently took center stage at the national Rise of the Rest Summit in Washington, D.C. Addressing ecosystem leaders around the nation, KCRise Fund managing director Darcy Howe shared strategies she’s used to build the KCRise fund, including a tactic that’s nourishing area startups — literally and figuratively. In addition to showcasing her…
Events Preview: KC Design Week, Lean Lab Innovation Workshop
There are a plethora of entrepreneurial events hosted in Kansas City on a weekly basis. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, investor, supporter, or curious community member — we recommend these upcoming events for you. Are you hosting a relevant community event? Feel free to add it to the FWD/KC calendar for increased exposure. Once your event…
Yoga for five-year-olds? Visionary KC charter school launching pilot program
Kansas City-based elementary school Dreams KC will launch its first pilot program this month, but don’t expect the same old classroom model “Dreams is a whole child model,” explained Catina Taylor, founder of Dreams KC. “What that means is we don’t focus on them from the neck up, we develop their civic, personal, professional and…
Gooding: Your customers don’t care about you
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Check out more from Grant Gooding here. It’s true. The moment you start talking about yourself is the moment you start losing. There is no doubt that as human beings we have a natural affinity to talk about ourselves; self-promotion is hard-wired…