B-Sweaty

Over het initiatief / About the initiative

In welke fase zit jouw initiatief? / In what stage is your initiative?

Uitgewerkt conceptfase

Heb je jouw initiatief al gevalideerd? / Did you validate your initiative?

We validated our initiative primarily by engaging directly with trainers who coach athletes. Their insights helped us understand the real needs and challenges athletes face regarding hydration and electrolyte balance. Additionally, participating in the TU/e Contest, a university-wide innovation competition, gave us the opportunity to connect with industry partners and experienced coaches who provided valuable feedback and helped us refine our concept. The positive response and excitement we received were very encouraging, and we took home first place in the contest. One of the finalist jury members, who trains in different sports, expressed strong support for our idea. They emphasized that integrating this kind of sensor into smartwatches would be highly valuable since athletes are always seeking ways to gain an edge and improve their performance.

Meer informatie over jouw initiatief / More info about your initiative

Athletes are always looking for an edge over their competitors. While smartwatches can track many vital signs, none can monitor electrolyte concentration, which is a key indicator of hydration status. So athletes are guessing left.

B-Sweaty is an ongoing honors project started by three bachelor students with different engineering backgrounds at TU/e ​​​​​​(Tom te Velde, Parth Kasat & Lucija Ražov). Our team is developing a real-time electrochemical sensor that measures these electrolyte levels directly from sweat, allowing athletes to replenish the right amount of electrolytes they lose when it truly matters, no more or no less.

This is a crucial problem to solve. Electrolyte imbalances can lead to faster fatigue during exercise, slower recovery afterwards, and in more serious cases, health issues like nausea, fainting, or even irregular heartbeat. By giving athletes access to this previously unavailable data, we aim to help them perform better, recover faster, and hydrate smarter.

After winning the TU/e ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Contest 2025, we would like to bring our innovative idea to a national stage, making hydration monitoring more accessible and raising awareness about the importance of electrolyte balance for athletes of all levels.

Wat is er anders/nieuw aan jouw idee/oplossing t.o.v. bestaande oplossingen? / What is different/new about your idea/solution compared to existing solutions??

The wearable sweat sensing market is still in its early stages, with relatively few competitors. However, the few companies that are present are lacking in some important factors. Almost all the competitors struggle with making their products long-lasting and durable. This is because many rely on biosensors that degrade quickly, limiting their durability and lifespan. In contrast, our use of electrochemical sensors significantly extends the sensor’s lifetime, making it a more viable and sustainable solution.

Another key difference is integration. Currently, none of the available sweat sensors are built into popular sports wearables like smartwatches. Instead of creating yet another separate device athletes have to buy and carry during use, we design our sensor to be integrated directly into existing smartwatches. This not only provides athletes with a seamless and convenient experience but also offers smartwatch manufacturers a unique feature to set themselves apart in a competitive market. A true win-win situation for both users and companies.

Wat zijn jouw volgende stappen om het verder te ontwikkelen? / What are your next steps to develop the initiative?

Our next development steps focus on miniaturizing our current prototype. At the moment, the device is bulky and not wearable, so scaling it down to a size suitable for integration into a smartwatch is a top priority.

In parallel, we aim to strengthen our connections with both end-users and key industry stakeholders to better align our product with market needs.

We also plan to expand our team, both in size and diversity of expertise. Currently, we are a team of three, each coming from a different engineering background (electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and applied physics). But through the TU/e ​​Honors Academy, we expect to grow to five members next academic year. Given the complexity of the project, adding more people, especially those with backgrounds in biochemistry, would significantly accelerate our progress.

Wat heb je nodig om (nog meer) impact te maken met dit initiatief? / What do you need to make (more) impact with this initiative?

To increase the impact of our initiative, the most important support we need right now is building strong connections within relevant industries. These connections can provide valuable insights to help us refine both our business plan and technology, making our solution more viable and scalable.

Additionally, we are actively recruiting new team members to broaden our expertise and accelerate development, particularly those with backgrounds in biochemistry and related fields.

Finally, improving our soft skills, such as communication, networking, and pitching, would greatly enhance our ability to collaborate and present our ideas effectively.