Wireless data communication and power transmission athletic apparel module
The present disclosure describes devices, systems, and methods that can be used to collect sensor data from, for instance, a sensor device that has been embedded in an article of apparel. The sensor device can be used, for instance, to monitor the athletic activity of an individual wearing the apparel into which the electronic device has been embedded. Embodiments of the sensor device include a memory, a wireless interface, and one or more processor. With these elements, the sensor device may receive instructions indicating what sensor data to collect, collect the sensor data, store the sensor data, and transmit the stored sensor data to the remote device upon completion of the activity.
1. An electronic device, embedded in an article of apparel, for monitoring an individual engaged in an activity, the electronic device comprising:
a memory;
a wireless interface configured to receive power from and transmit data to a remote electronic device; and
one or more processors communicatively coupled to the wireless interface and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to:
determine, based on the activity, an amount of charging time needed to supply an amount of power to the electronic device sufficient for monitoring the activity;
receive a first signal from the remote electronic device via the wireless interface for at least the charging time;
store, in the memory, sensor data provided at least in part by one or more sensors associated with the electronic device using power from the first signal;
receive a second signal from the remote electronic device via the wireless interface; and
transmit the sensor data from the memory to the remote electronic device via the wireless interface in response to receiving the second signal.
2. The electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising:
power management circuitry configured to charge a power store with the power from the first signal, wherein the power from the first signal is harvested by the wireless interface.
3. The electronic device of claim 2 , wherein the first signal comprises information specifying a duration for which the one or more sensors should collect the sensor data.
4. The electronic device of claim 3 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to place the electronic device in a sleep state after the specified duration has elapsed.
5. The electronic device of claim 3 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to place the electronic device into a sleep mode after the one or more sensors have collected sensor data for the specified duration.
6. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to automatically transmit the sensor data from the memory at predetermined time-intervals, at certain metric milestones, or based on a recognized pattern or movement.
7. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to set a state of the electronic device.
8. The electronic device of claim 7 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
power off the one or more sensors and power on the wireless interface when the electronic device is set to a first state; and
power off the wireless interface and power on the one or more sensors when the electronic device is set to a second state.
9. The electronic device of claim 7 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to set the state based at least on a received input.
10. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the first signal comprises information specifying a type of sensor data to be collected by the one or more sensors, wherein the type of sensor data comprises one of heart rate, breathing, step, speed, distance, location, acceleration, temperature, moisture, ambient light, sound, altitude, and pressure data.
11. The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to modify the type of sensor data to be collected in response to receiving an input.
12. The electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising a sensor configured to collect the sensor data.
13. The electronic device of claim 12 , wherein the sensor comprises one of a heart rate sensor, breathing sensor, step sensor, speed sensor, distance sensor, location sensor, acceleration sensor, temperature sensor, moisture sensor, ambient light sensor, sound sensor, altitude sensor, and pressure sensor.
14. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to suspend the transmitting of the sensor data from the memory to the remote electronic device while receiving the first signal.
15. A method of collecting sensor data relating to an individual engaged in an activity from an electronic device embedded in an article of apparel, the method comprising:
determine, based on the activity, an amount of charging time needed to supply an amount of power to the electronic device sufficient for monitoring the activity;
receiving a first signal from a remote electronic device via a wireless interface for at least the charging time;
storing, in a memory, sensor data provided at least in part by one or more sensors associated with the electronic device using power from the first signal;
receiving a second signal from the remote electronic device via the wireless interface; and
transmitting the sensor data from the memory to the remote electronic device via the wireless interface in response to receiving the second signal.
16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising setting a state of the electronic device based at least on information contained in the first signal.
17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
powering off the one or more sensors when the electronic device is set to a first state; and
powering on the one or more sensors when the electronic device is set to a second state.
18. The method of claim 15 , wherein the first signal comprises information specifying a type of sensor data to be collected by the one or more sensors, wherein the type of sensor data comprises one of heart rate, breathing, step, speed, distance, location, acceleration, temperature, moisture, ambient light, sound, altitude, and pressure data.
19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising:
receiving an input via an input interface; and
modifying the type of sensor data to be collected in response to the received input.
20. The method of claim 15 , further comprising placing the electronic device in a sleep state after a specified duration has elapsed.
21. The method of claim 15 , wherein one of the first signal, the second signal, and the transmission of the stored data includes a request to activate a hidden feature of the electronic device or of the remote electronic device.
22. An electronic device for monitoring sensor data generated by a sensor device embedded in an article of apparel, the electronic device comprising:
a wireless interface configured to transmit and receive power and data to and from a sensor device; and
one or more processors communicatively coupled to the wireless interface and configured to:
transmit a data signal to the sensor device via the wireless interface, wherein the data signal specifies sensor data to be collected by the sensor device;
transmit a power signal to the sensor device via the wireless interface for at least an amount of time determined based on the sensor data to be collected by the sensor device; and
receive the specified sensor data from the sensor device.