Dr Fabio Caparrelli has a background in electronic engineering and a doctorate in computer vision. Fabio also loves tennis. He plays tennis, is a qualified coach, and was looking for video technology to help train his students. He found that most of the options were expensive and exclusive, targeting elite-level sports. Fabio decided to use his engineering expertise to bridge the technology gap between development and elite levels in sport.
Fabio founded Uropanet Ltd and, through a number of iterations, created an initial hardware product called the SportReTiNA ‘toolkit’. This consists of a set of portable wireless cameras that can be used on a sports practice ground to capture short and synchronised video footage from several angles in a semi-automated way, using a wrist-worn device. These videos can then be played back immediately on any portable computing device and analysed using especially developed software for athletes and their coaches.
The SportReTiNA toolkit has already been validated with a dozen early adopters in tennis venues. Seeing the same shots played on three or four screens simultaneously from different angles, helps the coach and the players improve technique and timings. Fabio has also developed a cloud platform that coaches can use to manage training sessions, players and videos. Additional cloud services such as live streaming and remote coaching, powered by AI and machine learning, are also provided.
Fabio joined the Regional Talent Engines programme in 2023. He says: “This has been the perfect fit for nurturing my aspirations and for providing me with the right knowledge, expertise and networks to convert a startup project into a viable business. The tailored training and network of experts has given me the right mix of tools to develop my business.”
Fabio is expecting to grow his SportReTiNA brand in sports training venues across Europe. He will initially focus on racquet sports, particularly tennis and padel, to build a community of users. Fabio will also work to develop a strong social media presence to consolidate and strengthen a strong user community.
