The Ethics & Security Standards Your Sports Tech Should Be Meeting

Summary

In this series, we're unpacking the STRN Quality Framework — a set of 25 measurable features across 5 pillars for evaluating motion capture systems. This post covers Pillar C: Ethics and Security, examining how Theia3D handles data privacy, participant safety, and research ethics compliance.

Can your technology be trusted with sensitive data?

Pillar C of the Sports Technology Research Network (STRN) Quality Framework tackles the features that matter most when it comes to ethics, data handling, and long-term trust. From privacy and compliance to environmental impact, this pillar defines how well a system safeguards users, participants, and society.

In this post, we'll break down each of the six features under Pillar C and show how Theia3D was designed to meet and exceed those expectations.

What Pillar C Covers

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Pillar C: Ethics & Security evaluates whether a system:

Complies with relevant laws
Protects user and subject privacy
Clearly defined data ownership
Minimized safety risks
Operates transparently
Supports environmental sustainability

How Theia3D Operates

Unlike cloud-based systems, Theia3D is a locally installed software application. Data is processed entirely on the user's machine. Theia3D: doesn't collect or store video or kinematic data, doesn't control the recording process, doesn't transmit anything to the cloud, and can be licensed and activated offline.

This local-first design gives users complete control over how data is collected, processed, stored, and shared, making it easier to comply with institutional policies, regional laws, and participant expectations.

STRN Pillar C Feature Breakdown

Compliance

Theia3D doesn't collect or store any data — the user remains fully responsible for compliance with local data laws like GDPR, PIPEDA, and CCPA. This clarity of responsibility gives institutions flexibility to manage ethics reviews and consent procedures according to their own needs.

Privacy

Theia3D uses data minimization and user consent practices, and never shares data with third parties. We follow industry best practices for access control and allow for anonymization/pseudonymization when needed.

Ownership

Our EULA clearly states: “All right, title, and interest… in and to the Customer Data… shall be owned solely and exclusively by Customer.” Whether you're working in pro sports, research institutions, or academic labs, Theia3D ensures you own your outputs.

Safety

Because Theia3D is markerless, there are no wires, suits, or sensors. This significantly reduces participant risk and makes motion capture safer and more inclusive for diverse research populations.

Transparency

All updates are detailed on our blog and documentation hub. Support inquiries are handled by real biomechanists and engineers. We set realistic expectations during sales and onboarding. No hidden processes or data sharing.

Environmental Sustainability

We reduce Theia3D’s footprint by supporting older PC hardware, optimizing performance to reduce energy use, keeping all processing local, and offering batch processing for more efficient computing.

Recent Posts

Theia3D Apex - The Next Generation of Markerless Motion Capture Has Arrived

After much anticipation, Theia3D Apex is now available for all users. This release represents a significant update to our markerless tracking models and introduces our new baseball ball tracking add-on feature, along with other enhancements and updates. In this overview, we’ll discuss what you can expect after updating to Theia3D Apex, including the improvements offered by our new tracking models, a look at how our ball tracking feature was validated, and other new software features.

A Major Research Milestone for Theia3D

More than 50 independent, peer-reviewed research publications now cite, evaluate or review Theia3D across domains including gait, sports performance, postural control, upper-extremity movement and other biomechanics applications. These publications are available in world-leading journals including Journal of Biomechanics, Journal of Applied Biomechanics, Gait & Posture and Clinical Biomechanics. Together, they represent a growing body of evidence across different movements, populations and environments, reinforcing Theia3D’s position as the most extensively validated markerless motion capture system.

Beyond The Radar Gun: How Dean Jackson uses Theia3D For Incremental Velocity Analysis

This article is a first in a miniseries that breaks down what motion capture can show beyond radar, ball data, and standard video. In this first installment, Dean breaks down how he uses Incremental Velocity Analysis, or IVA, to study what changes biomechanically as pitchers move closer and closer to max output.