Qian Junqi, general manager of Batto Force, introduces the smart baseball bat with a sensor on its bottom. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"This baseball bat is installed with professional data recording equipment which automatically records the practices of students who use it," said Qian Junqi, general manager of Batto Force, when he was introducing one of the company's smart bats.

From its home at Intellectual Sports Park in Wuxi, Batto Force, has been specializing in the development of youth sports training businesses utilizing the internet of things (IoT) technologies. Qian first encountered the park at the 2017 World IoT Expo, later deciding to relocate his business there. Batto Force has opened three stores in Wuxi and cooperates with 100 schools in Shanghai, Nanjing and Wuxi in training students.

Qian explained the increased training precision made possible by Internet Plus technologies. "Parents can not only check their children's training data, but also their rankings in the team or city, or even among all participating children of the same age."

Qian identified the park's Smart Sports Makerspace, the first of its kind in China, as providing "a great deal of help"to his enterprise and other startups, with personnel recruitment, resource supply and preferential treatment.

The training data and rankings in the team or city of each student are available on the mobile app of Batto Force. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

After the 2017 World IoT Expo, 16 enterprises, like Batto Force, settled in the park, making a total of 53 entities engaging in a wide range of sports businesses, including event operation and product development.

As Jiangsu's first smart sports city, Wuxi aims to develop its sports and health industries through the use of Internet Plus and IoT technologies. The city is set to host the 2018 World IoT Expo in September when it will also present the 2nd Smart Sports Industry Summit, a demonstration of how IoT can promote mass sports and entertainment.