Activity monitoring systems and methods
An activity monitor, comprises housing for attachment to a person; at least one accelerometer disposed within the housing; and a processor disposed within the housing, for processing signals from the accelerometer to assess activity of the person. A method assesses activity of a person, including: sensing acceleration at a first location on the person; processing the acceleration, over time, to assess activity of the person; and wirelessly communicating information indicative of the activity to a second location.
1. A receiver for receiving a transducer signal, comprising:
a receiving element operative to receive, during the user's workout, the output of a transducer, the transducer operative to detect movement of a user; and
a processor operative to:
assess boundary conditions of the transducer output;
exclude certain conditions from determinations of characteristics of the user's workout; and
process the output of the transducer during the user's workout to determine the characteristics of the user's workout.
2. The receiver of claim 1 , wherein the determined characteristics of the user's workout comprise at least one of:
speed;
peak speed;
average speed;
distance traveled;
loft time;
pulse;
number of steps taken; and
acceleration.
3. The receiver of claim 1 , wherein the transducer comprises at least one of:
an accelerometer;
a pressure sensor;
a vibration sensor;
a loft sensor;
a speed sensor;
a height sensor;
a force sensor;
a GPS sensor;
a microphone;
a weight sensor;
a Doppler based sensor;
a temperature sensor;
an inclinometer; and
a skin resistivity sensor.
4. The receiver of claim 1 , further comprising:
a display wherein the processor is operative to direct the display to display the determined characteristics of the user's workout.
5. The receiver of claim 1 , wherein the processor is operative to process the output of the transducer as the output is received.
6. The receiver of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further operative to:
assess boundary conditions of the transducer output; and
exclude certain conditions from determinations of the workout characteristics.
7. The receiver of claim 1 , wherein:
the output of the transducer comprises a vibrational spectrum related to movement of the user during a workout; and
the processor is operative to detect a first and a second condition of the vibrational spectrum that correspond to particular movements of the user during a workout.
8. The receiver of claim 7 , wherein the first and the second conditions are used to determine speed of the user during a workout.
9. The receiver of claim 1 , wherein:
the output of the transducer expresses acceleration related to movement of the user during a workout; and
the processor is operative to perform an integration on the acceleration over time to determine the speed characteristic of the user's workout.
10. The receiver of claim 1 , wherein:
the output of the transducer expresses acceleration related to movement of the user during a workout; and
the processor is operative to perform a double integration on the acceleration over time to determine the distance traveled characteristic of the user's workout.
11. The receiver of claim 1 , further comprising:
a housing attached to the user and operative to house the receiving element and processor.
12. A receiver for receiving characteristics of a user's workout, comprising:
a receiving element operative to receive, during the user's workout, data associated with characteristics of the user's workout;
a display; and
a processor operative to:
assess boundary conditions of the received data, and
exclude certain conditions from determinations of the workout characteristics; and
direct the display to display the received characteristics during the user's workout.
13. The receiver of claim 12 , wherein the characteristics of the user's workout comprise at least one of:
speed;
peak speed;
average speed;
distance traveled;
loft time;
pulse;
number of steps taken; and
acceleration.
14. The receiver of claim 12 , wherein the receiver is portable.
15. The receiver of claim 12 , further comprising:
a housing attached to the user and operative to house the receiving element, the display and processor.
16. A system for communicating data associated with a user's workout comprising:
a transmitter comprising:
a transducer operative to detect movement of a user during a workout; and
a transmitting element operative to transmit data related to movement detected by the transducer as the movement is detected; and
a receiver comprising:
a receiving element operative to receive, during the user's workout, the data transmitted by the transmitting element;
a processor operative to assess boundary conditions of the received data and exclude certain conditions from determinations of characteristics of the user's workout; and
a display operative to display the characteristics of the user's workout determined from the received data during the user's workout.
17. The system of claim 16 ; wherein the characteristics of the user's workout comprise at least one of:
speed;
peak speed;
average speed;
distance traveled;
loft time;
pulse;
number of steps taken; and
acceleration.
18. The system of claim 16 ; wherein the transmitter further comprises:
a processor operative to process the movement detected by the transducer to determine the characteristics of the user's workout; and
wherein the transmitting element is operative to transmit the determined characteristics.
19. The system of claim 16 , wherein the transmitter further comprises:
a housing attached to the user, wherein the housing is operative to house the transducer and the transmitting element.
20. The system of claim 16 , wherein the receiver further comprises:
a housing attached to the user, wherein the housing is operative to house the receiving element and the display.