Activity status measuring device

Abstract

A measuring device with the following features: a plurality of wireless vital sensors attached to predetermined mounting locations on a players' bench and, optionally, additionally to a board, wherein the wireless vital sensors are configured to contactlessly sense biometric data including body temperature, respiration, pulse, and / or blood pressure from each of a group of individuals for a predetermined time after the individual enters a sensing area of any one of the plurality of vital sensors, and wherein the wireless vital sensors are configured to repeatedly sense the biometric data of individuals when the individual leaves the sensing area in accordance with the expiration of the predetermined time and subsequently re-enters the sensing area of any one of the plurality of vital sensors, wherein the vital sensors each have a Doppler sensor configuration and wherein the vital sensors are configured to each output at 10 mW or less; a plurality of identification sensors, and wherein each of the identification sensors has a transmitter and a receiver for wirelessly transmitting ID data of the individual, wherein the receiver is positioned near the vital sensor associated with the receiver, and the receiver accepts the ID data from the transmitter upon entry of the transmitter attached to the individual into a reception area of the receiver; and a converter for associating the biometric data sensed by the associated wireless vital sensor for a period of time of accepting the ID data of the receiver to the individual identified by the ID data and sending it to an information processing terminal.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to a measurement device for obtaining the activity status of an individual using biometric data (vital sign data) such as body temperature, respiration, pulse, blood pressure and the like of the individual measured by sensors. The present invention relates in particular to supporting decision making as to which individuals should be included in a team in order to improve the overall group performance of the team in cases where a plurality of individuals participate to engage in team activity.DESCRIPTION OF THE Technical BackgroundFor example, a plurality of individuals form a team to operate a football or icehokey game and to join against an opposing team. Individual performance depends on the physical condition and degree of tightening of each individual on the game day; and performance also decreases due to cumulative fatigue as the game time progresses. In the case of group physical activity, a decrease in performance of a single player may result in a decrease in performance of other players in the same team, which has a significant impact on the overall performance of the team.If each individual would obtain their own physical condition exactly and report the condition (e.g., the existence of a tall fever that would prevent him or her from achieving the expected competitive performance, etc.) to his manager or trainer prior to the game, a replacement player could insert into the team. In addition, even if a player is healthy or in good condition, cumulative fatigue occurs rapidly when the activity level of the player in the game is high or when the game takes place in an extremely hot or extremely cold environment. Thus, each player experiences a drop in performance even if differences in style exist. Nevertheless, players rarely request replacement due to cumulative fatigue during a game. Thus, the managers and trainers must carefully monitor each player's activity status and decide when to make changes at the appropriate time. However, it is not easy to determine the replacement time and / or to determine which bank player is to be substituted.Accordingly, conventionally, systems have been developed that track and manage performance by monitoring the activity status and the physical condition during sports operation of individuals (e.g., see U.S. Pat. No. 2008 / 0096726A1). Treadmills and the like installed at sports centers are also configured to measure and display the heart rate or the like of an individual on a screen. Further, apparatuses for improving the overall performance of a crew have also been proposed (for example, see European Patent Publication No. 2682052A2). These devices or systems monitor measurement data acquired by a biometric data measurement device attached to the arm or leg of each individual, and attempt to provide useful information to a user by processing the measurement data.The prior art includes, among others, US 2014 / 0364141 A1, which describes a method, an apparatus and a computer program for improving registration with real-time localization services, US 2009 / 02770170 A1, which describes a biofeedback for a game device, US 2008 / 0113772 A1, which describes an automated data collection system for castino game table environments, US 2009 / 0227882 A1, which describes an ultra-broadband monitoring system and antennas, US 2003 / 0227386 A1, which describes a method and a system for selectively monitoring activities in a tracking environment, US 2012 / 0075103 A1, US 2014 / 0 364 973 A1, which describes a system and a method for viewing patient data, in which a method, an apparatus and a computer program for monitoring the health, fitness, activity and performance of persons, are described, and US 2014 / 0 194 793 A1, which describes systems and methods for contactless multiparameter vital function monitoring.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONHowever, it is generally not preferred that players carry any measurement devices for measuring biometric data directly attached to the body during a game. One reason is that monitoring during competition is different from monitoring activity during training and players might feel uncomfortable when a body contact measurement device is attached to their body. In addition, if the measurement device shifts due to body movement, replacement is required. As a result, the player will not be able to focus on the game. Another reason is that in football, icepoxy and the like there is much body contact between players, which may result in a risk of damage or failure of the body contact measurement device.Accordingly, it would be desirable to measure biometric data showing the activity status of individuals using contactless sensors and to assist in decision making as to how great the degree of change is compared to normal times.In the measuring apparatus of the present invention, a plurality of wireless vital sensors for detecting biometric data of individuals are designed and attached to predetermined attachment sites. In addition, the wireless vital sensors are configured to contact-less sense biometric data of an individual when the individual enters the sensing range of any of the plurality of wireless vital sensors. Thus, there is no need to attach a wireless vital sensor to the body of each individual. Moreover, there is neither discomfort while the wireless vital sensor is attached nor the risk of damage or destruction of the wireless vital sensor due to collisions and the like during games.Each of the wireless vital sensors does not form a personal monitoring sensor for measuring biometric data of an individual such as a player. Rather, the wireless vital sensors are attached to the predetermined attachment location, and each of the wireless vital sensors may measure an unspecified player approaching the wireless vital sensors. In other words, there is no need to provide a number of wireless vital sensors equal to the number of members of the group or team, as the wireless vital sensor acts as a monitoring sensor for each individual that could be a member of the group or team. Accordingly, with respect to the sport, only the minimum number of required wireless vital sensors may be arranged, so that costs may be reduced.In addition, the measurement device of the present invention includes, in addition to the wireless vital sensors, the identification sensors for identifying or recognizing a mobile object, and the individual corresponding to the biometric data sensed by the wireless vital sensors is identified by the ID data from the identification sensor. Accordingly, in a configuration in which the wireless vital sensors can acquire the biometric data of an unspecified number of individuals, it can be securely identified to which individual the biometric data belongs.The measurement device of the present invention communicates a converter on a communication network, and the converter can associate the biometric data acquired by the wireless vital sensors with the ID data acquired by the identification sensors and also performs preprocessing of the data required by the applications running on the data processing terminal (e.g., a mobile device) that displays the biometric data. As a result, applications for displaying the player's performance data on the data processing terminal receiving the data from the converter can be easily developed, and the burden associated with operating these applications can be significantly reduced.This summary is provided for purposes of summarizing some example implementations to enable a basic understanding of aspects of the subject matter described herein. Accordingly, the features discussed above are merely exemplary and should not be construed as limiting the scope or spirit of the subject matter described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following detailed description, figures, and claims.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSA better understanding of the present invention can be obtained when the following detailed description of the embodiments is considered in conjunction with the following drawings. FIG. 1A shows an exemplary activity status measuring apparatus installed in a sports shop according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1B shows an example identification sensor and an example vital sensor, and placed in a player bench used in an ice-shock game. FIG. 1C shows a situation where a player sits on a bank so that signals from the vital sensor and the identification sensor are transmitted to a cellular router via a data converter. FIG. 2 is an exemplary block diagram of a system including the measurement device. FIG. 3 shows a situation in which a player sits on a bank, so that according to a further exemplary embodiment signals are transmitted between the vital sensor and the identification sensor. FIG. 4A is an exemplary table for indicating a relationship between the vital sensor and the identification sensor. FIG. 4B is an exemplary table for showing a relationship between ID data of the identification sensor and the name of each player. FIG. 4C shows an example of biometric data captured by the vital sensor. FIG. 5 is an example graphical output on a screen processed by a software application operating on a user device.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTSPreferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.The present embodiment shows an example in which the measuring apparatus of the present invention is applied to the ice hookeysport. The present embodiment aims to measure the biometric data of players participating in the ice-hokeysport and thereby promote the best overall performance of the team.Eishockey is a team (group) sport operated on a natural or artificial ice trail on which players wear skates. In many cases, a team including the starting player and the bank player is composed of about 18 to 22 list players (registered players) including two goal rooms. As shown in Figure 1, the periphery of the path on which sports is operated is surrounded by a fence-like enclosure referred to as a band 11. Manager, trainer and player enter a player bench 9 at a railway side (except when in a penalty bench 10).The rules dictate that a maximum of six players from each team can be on the ice at any given time. Compared with other similar sports operated on fields, higher speeds are achieved due to the use of skates, making the game spanning, but due to the high risk of contact and the like, players are forced to wear protective equipment. In addition, due to the features of sport being high activity levels by players as well as rapid accumulation of fatigue, it is difficult to play icehoke continuously for a longer period of time. Accordingly, the attack and defense teams (other than goalkews) are preorganized into groups referred to as "row-block lines", and the groups are replaced during the game about every minute in the flying change. In other words, the game proceeds with a six-person group having a goalkeeper, which is changed to another group about every minute. During the exchange time, the players can take place on the player bench 9 of their own team at the track side to restore their endurance and wait for the time of next exchange. Note that the player bench 9 has a bench length of 10 meters or more and a width of 1.5 meters or more to provide room for the players and team workers.A wireless vital sensor 1 used in a measurement apparatus 100 of the present embodiment is disposed on the player bench 9 as shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, the wireless vital sensor 1 is disposed on a surface of a backrest of the bench, but may be disposed on a seating surface as shown in FIG. 3. In fact, deterioration of the seating convenience of the bench due to the presence of the wireless vital sensor 1 can be prevented by placing a cushion member 12 on the surface of the seat back or the seating surface.In the case of the measuring apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, at least six pieces of the wireless vital sensor 1 are disposed on the player bench 9. This usually ensures that in the sport style Eishokey only a maximum of six players may be on the ice at any given time per team. When the six players return to the player bench 9 on the ice for replacement, they are instructed to sit at the locations where the wireless vital sensors 1 are disposed. It should be noted that when 18 players are registered, they are organized into three groups. One group (with six players) is either on the ice or the penalty bank and the other two groups (12 players) are clearly used. Accordingly, 12 of the wireless vital sensors may be arranged on the player bench 9. In addition, the wireless vital sensors 1 may be attached to the band 11 (i.e., the fence around the trail), together with identification sensors 2 described hereinafter. Alternatively, the wireless vital sensors 1 may be divided with one part disposed on the player bench 9 and the remaining part attached to the band 11.When players on the ice return to the player bench 9 for replacement and enter a sensing area (e.g., when putting on the bench), the wireless vital sensors 1 sense their biometric data. The wireless vital sensor 1 of the present embodiment has a Doppler sensor configuration in which weak microwaves are emitted and the difference between the emitted wave and the reflected wave is detected. Pulse data, respiratory data, and the like are filtered and extracted from the reflected wave sensed difference. In view that the output of PHS devices used in hospitals and the like is 80 mW, the output of the wireless vital sensor 1 is weak at 10 mW or less. Moreover, the frequency of the micro radio waves of the wireless vital sensor 1 is, for example, 24 GHz, that is, a frequency higher than the radio waves of 0.8 to 2.4 GHz used by a WLAN, mobile phones, and the like. Therefore, the microwaves of the wireless vital sensor 1 are less harmful to the human body because they reflect back from the surface of the human body and do not enter the body. Moreover, by limiting the emission direction of the microwaves to a predetermined range, the wireless vital sensor 1 can be calibrated so as not to sense the biometric data of the player seated adjacently on the bench and to ensure highly accurate data.In addition, identification sensors 2 ( 2 aand 2 b) used in the measurement device 100 of the present embodiment are RFID sensors that wirelessly transmit data between an RF tag 2 bin which ID data is embedded and an RFID receiver 2 asuch as an RFID reader located near the RF tag 2 b. The kind of the tag (passive tag, active tag or the like), the transmission method (electromagnetic induction method, radio wave method and the like), and the communication method are not limited in any way and can be selected as desired.A plurality (six in the embodiments mentioned above) of the RFID receiver 2a of the identification sensor 2 are arranged in the vicinity of the vital sensors 1 on the player bench 9. A correspondence with which of the wireless vital sensors 1 each of the identification sensors 2 is paired is set in advance as shown in FIG. 4A. Further, a correspondence regarding identifying to which player the ID data belongs is also set in advance (see FIG. 4B).In the present embodiment, as in the wireless vital sensors 1, each of the identification sensors 2 is disposed on the surface of the backrest of the player bench 9. The RF tag 2b of each of the RFID receivers 2a is sewn or otherwise affixed to the back of each player's tricot, protective equipment or undergarment. In the present embodiment, the RF tag 2b is attached to an inner side (body side) of the protection equipment for protecting the upper body of a player, specifically, to a portion protecting the spinal region. Note that in FIGS. 1C and 3, the RF tag 2 bis attached to the player's undergarment or the like for convenience of illustration, and a state in which the tricot has been removed is shown. Although it is possible to attach the RF tag 2 bto the glove, helmet or other protector, it is preferable that the RF tag 2 bis attached to the tricot, protective equipment or undergarment because players may take their helmets and the like off during the game while waiting on the player bench 9. Particularly, in cases where the RFID receiver 2a is disposed on the back of the bank, when the RF tag 2b is attached to the back of the player's body, communication deterioration between the RF tag 2b and the RFID receiver 2a can be minimized. It should be noted that in a further exemplary embodiment, the RFID receiver 2 acan be arranged on the seat surface, like the wireless vital sensor 1 shown in FIG. 3, or alternatively above the player, that is to say in a ceiling direction.The ID data identifying the player is stored in the RF tag 2b attached to the tricot or the like of the player. Thus, the RF tag 2b can wirelessly transmit the player's ID data to the RFID receiver 2a. When a player on the ice enters the player bench 9 and sets or starts to set, the RFID receiver 2a receives the ID data transmitted from the RF tag 2b. As a result, the RFID receiver 2a can reliably identify which player has set on the player bench 9.Just as in the wireless vital sensor 1, the directionality of the radio waves of the RF tag 2 band the RFID receiver 2 amust be calibrated to maximize the elimination of noise between the RF tag 2 band the RFID receiver 2 aof the identification sensor 2, and also in order that the ID data of the player sitting adjacent to the bank is not detected.FIG. 2 shows an example of a configuration of a communication network of the present embodiment. The biometric data of each player, which is sensed by the wireless vital sensor 1, is transmitted via a mobile radio router 4 to a LAN port of a converter 3 which is located on a WLAN 8. The mobile radio router 4, which is located between the wireless vital sensor 1 and the converter 3, is provided to assign an IP address to each of the wireless vital sensors 1. The player's ID data transmitted from the RF tag 2b and received by the RFID receiver 2a of the identification sensor 2 is transmitted to a serial terminal of the converter 3 via an RS-232 or similar serial interface. As described above, the correspondence with which of the wireless vital sensors 1 each of the identification sensors 2 is paired is set in advance as shown in FIG. 4A. Therefore, the converter 3 can associate the biometric data from the wireless vital sensor 1 with the ID data from the identification sensor 2. In other words, in the converter 3, a data identification of which player the biometric data belongs to is executed.As such, the biometric data of an individual player can be obtained using a pair of the wireless vital sensor 1 and the identification sensor 2. In the present embodiment, six such pairs are provided so that the biometric data of six individual players can be acquired simultaneously, provided that the six players sit on the player bench 9 at about the same time. While the RF tag 2 band the associated RFID receiver 2 amend ID data, each of the wireless vital sensors 1 continuously senses pulse and breathing of the players and acquires the biometric data at a predetermined time interval (e.g., every three seconds). FIG. 4C shows an example in which the wireless vital sensor 1 acquires the biometric data of each player every three seconds. The upper part of the measurement data shows the heart rate and the lower part shows the breathing rate. In another embodiment, the biometric data may be acquired from the start of wireless communication between the RF tag 2 band the RFID receiver 2 ato the expiration of a predetermined time period (e.g., one minute).Note that the wireless vital sensor 1 can determine whether or not a player sits on the player bench 9. Thus, even in cases where a malfunction occurs by the RFID receiver 2 aof the identification sensor 2 responding to the RF tag 2 bof a non-seated adjacent player, misbehavour of the RFID receiver 2 acan be detected by comparison with the seating time from the wireless vital sensor 1, and data accuracy can be increased.Further, the player at the goalkeeper position is not exchanged as many times as the other players in the same group, but just as in the other players, the performance of the goalkeeper decreases as the playing time progresses. As such, the biometric data of the goalkeeper can be acquired by attaching a wireless vital sensor 1' to an upper portion of the goalkeeper at a position where the goalkeeper can be sensed. In cases where the goalkeeper is to be identified using the RFID receiver 2 a, the RFID receiver 2 a, like the wireless vital sensor 1, is preferably disposed at the upper portion of the door frame.The converter 3 performs the data identification with respect to which player the biometric data belongs to, and thereafter, sends the biometric data to an information processing terminal 5 connected to the WLAN 8 via a LAN terminal other than the LAN terminal used for the biometric data from the wireless vital sensor 1. The information processing terminal 5 is a mobile terminal held by a manager or trainer in the sports shop. In addition, by putting the mobile radio router 4 in the sports shop, the information processing terminal 5 is continuously connected to a public line such as an Internet 6 during the game via the mobile radio router 4 connected by Wi-Fi. A plurality of networks using different LAN ports are configured for use in the converter 3 to prevent the introduction of noise from other lines. As such, when the converter 3 is used in a noise free environment, a configuration is possible in which the biometric data from the wireless vital sensor 1 is input to the converter 3 via the same LAN port and output to the information processing terminal 5. Note that in cases where the sports site is not equipped with a network environment, the information processing terminal 5 may connect to the Internet 6 using a public land network. In this case, the converter 3 can be connected to the mobile radio network and can perform network communications via a mobile radio router or a mobile radio data card which is connected to the converter 3.Once the information processing terminal 5 receives the biometric data of each player from the converter 3 via the WLAN 8, an application running on the information processing terminal 5 processes the biometric data and displays the processing results, thereby supporting exchange decisions made by the manager or the like and improving the overall performance of the crew. In addition to processing the biometric data of the players alone in the game, the application may also process the biometric data of the players in the game with referencing biometric data during regular training. The biometric data during training is stored in advance in a database 7 and is composed of, for example, biometric data of each player under various circumstances such as a daily average heart rate and average breathing rate, an average heart rate and breathing rate after a predetermined time (e.g., one minute) of exercise, an average heart rate and average breathing rate in sleep, and the like. When the application running on the information processing terminal 5 issues a request for retrieval of the biometric data of a player stored in the database 7 connected to the Internet 6 during a game, the application compares the biometric data (short-term biometric data) obtained from the converter 3 with the biometric data (long-term biometric data) stored in the database 7 and displays it on the screen. It is thus possible to obtain how much the heart rate and / or breathing rate has increased.Further, players or teams who are walking overs are imposed penalty based on the severity of the oversatting. The arbiter removes the destructive player from the ice and sets it in a penalty box 10 (see FIG. 1 ). When the penalty time has expired, the player can leave the penalty box 10 and return to the ice. Management of players entering and leaving the penalty box 10 may be performed, and time spent in the penalty box 10 and time spent on the ice may be measured by the RFID receiver 2 aof the identification sensor 2 disposed at a gate 12 of the penalty box 10.FIG. 5 shows a display example of processing results output from the application. Breathing rates and heart rates that have increased due to exercise gradually decrease during a sleep phase after exercise and approach a state before exercise. Since the rate of descent depends on the innate physical performance, training amount and the like of each player, the manner in which the rates decrease is not the same for all players. Thus, as shown in Figure 5, for each player, the heart rate and breathing rate immediately after returning to the bank (X values) and the heart rate and breathing rate after pause (e.g., after one minute) (Y values) are listed and displayed so that the rate of sink after pause can be compared. For example, the rate of descent of the heart rate of player A after one minute (difference: CA) is extreme, and the heart rate of player B does not show as significant a change (difference: CB) as player A. In other words, CA>CB holds. A decrease in the heart rate and / or breathing rate induced by the exercise indicates recovery of endurance, and therefore the processing results shown in FIG. 5 indicate that the amount of cumulative fatigue has been reduced due to the fact that player A has engaged a one-minute rest pause. In other words, player A has a fast fatigue recovery rate. On the other hand, the processing results shown in Fig. 5 indicate that player B still has fatigued even after taking a one-minute resting pause. Fatigue recovery rates such as these can be quickly obtained. Accordingly, these processing results make it easier to decide whether to send the group of players A and B in their current configuration on the next occasion, or whether to replace a player and, if replaced, which players should be replaced with. Consequently, it is easy for the manager to make the decision to replace the player B with another player.Further, as described above, the information processing terminal 5 receives the average heart rate and the average breathing rate after the predetermined time (e.g., one minute) of physical operation of each player with the inquiry request to the database 7. This biometric data is measured by mounting the wireless vital sensor 1 also during regular training, and is stored as statistical values.Accordingly, the application may be configured to not only compare the amounts of reduction in the heart rate and the breathing rate of players after one minute during a game, but also configured to compare players having lower amounts of reduction in the heart rate and the like (in other words, cumulative fatigue players) using the average heart rates and average breathing rates after one minute of exercise stored in the database 7 as a reference for comparison with regular training. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, from a comparison of the amount of reduction in the heart rate after one minute resting of player A and player B after returning to the player bank 9 during a game, it becomes clear, that the amount of reduction of player A is larger than that of player B (CA>CB). It is therefore conceivable that player A has recovered more endurance. However, when the average heart rates after one minute of exercise DA and DB stored in advance in the database 7 are taken into account, it becomes clear that the heart rate of the player A has not significantly decreased compared with the expected amount of decrease DA measured in the regular training, and that the amount of decrease of the heart rate of the player B is actually larger than in the regular training.Accordingly, it is preferable not to simply compare the lower reduction amounts at the heart rates CA and CB after one minute on the game day, but to normalize them using lower reduction amounts at the average heart rates after one minute of physical exercise DA and DB stored in advance in the database 7 to provide the actual degree of endurance recovery on the game day.Preferably, in addition to histograms by line charts, color coded displays and the like, instant comparisons are made possible to enable the manager to make decisions in a short time. Further, by referencing the averages of the stored biometric data, a threshold value at which performance drops when a player continues to exercise, and a display or alarm may be provided on the screen so that the manager or the like can quickly inform that the threshold value has been exceeded. Preferably, a value suitable for each player is set as the threshold. Thus, convenience in using the information processing terminal 5 for the manager or the like is largely improved because biometric data is processed in various ways in the application.Besides, when a player develops to pathleting, competitions in oversea become more frequent, and management of the player's physical condition becomes more difficult due to jet lag and the like. It is known from experience that players with jetlags generally have a higher body temperature and an increased heart rate. As such, each player's biometric data is monitored at night one day or several days prior to the day of the game. For example, specifically, the wireless vital sensor 1 is placed under the mattress of the player's bed, and the heart rate and the breathing rate are sensed. The wireless vital sensor 1 can discriminate whether or not the player is in the bed because it senses when the player gets off the bed. Moreover, the wireless vital sensor 1 can sense continuous data of body movement (turning) in real time.A body temperature may be measured using a thermometer at a predetermined time (e.g., immediately before being bedded), or may be measured by attaching a thermal infrared sensor (not shown) to the ceiling or the like of the room. The thermal infrared sensor has a temperature sensor function in which the temperature of a light receiving element rises as a result of absorbing infrared radiation. Therefore, by measuring the infrared radiation emitted according to each body temperature of the body and converting the measurements into electrical signals, the temperature (body temperature) can be detected without touching the body.Accordingly, prior to the game or during the game, the manager or the like can use the information processing terminal 5 to watch the results of comparing the heart rate and the obtained changes in the body temperature sensed by the wireless vital sensor 1 with the player's regular heart rate and body temperature stored in the database 7 and to obtain whether the player is still jettaging and whether there is a risk that the player does not reach his best performance.Note that in cases where only one player sleeps in a room, the player can be identified without using the identification sensor 2, but this should not be construed as a limitation of using the same. For example, in cases where a plurality of players share a room designed for two or more persons, it is difficult in applicability to determine in advance which player is sensed by the wireless vital sensor 1. Thus, using the identification sensor 2, the biometric data of each player can be sensed regardless of which bed each player is using.However, the information processing terminal 5 cannot easily process the biometric data in real time in the state transmitted from the converter 3. In cases where the display of the heart rate and the breathing rate needs to be updated every one to three seconds, the update period is short and the burden is large. As the number of sensors increases, the stress becomes even more marked. A prerequisite for converting the biometric data into a form of data that can be easily read and written by the application allows the display to be updated at short intervals.Accordingly, the converter 3 of the present embodiment is provided with a JavaScript object notation (JSON) conversion function for converting the measurement data into the JSON format in the converter 3 itself. JSON is based on Java® Script used in web browsers and the like, and therefore the data converted to the JSON format can be read easily using Java® Script.The biometric data converted to the JSON format by the JSON conversion function of the converter 3 may be transmitted to the information processing terminal 5 in real time. Since data from many sensors can be accumulated and transmitted to the application side at short intervals, there is no need for data collection devices in peer-to-peer (sensor application) form for each individual sensor.In addition, as described above, the association of the biometric data sensed by the wireless vital sensor 1 and the ID data of the identification sensor 2 is performed on the converter 3 side, and it is easy to determine which player the data belongs to. For example, in a configuration in which the biometric data and the ID data are individually acquired and associated using a web-based server, there are various other processes that are executed as server functions (e.g., retrying transmissions due to errors caused by noise, interrupt processing of other processes, and the like), and the processing becomes complicated and delays. Therefore, data handling becomes easier when dealing with these processes using the converter 3. These advantages increase as the number of sensors increases.In the present embodiment, the biometric data can be read and written as converted JSON data by simple processing. Therefore, the processing is fast, and applications to be run on the information processing terminal 5 can be easily developed. Further, since the converter 3 has the JSON conversion function, the data can be accumulated and transmitted, and thus each individual application will not be required to send multiple access requests to the sensor side such as the wireless vital sensor 1 or the identification sensor 2. Thus, there are advantages in that the transmission stress can be made lighter and battery consumption of the sensors can be reduced.Further, an example using an acceleration sensor will be described. An example in which the RFID receiver 2 aof the identification sensor 2 has been disposed in the gate 12 of the penalty box 10 is described above. Since the rules specify that the penalty box 10 can only be entered or left through the gate 12, a confirmation of whether the player who was in the penalty box 10 has returned to the ice can only be made with the RFID receiver 2 a. Entering and exiting the player bench 9 by each player can also be managed by locating the RFID receiver 2a in the goal of the player bench 9, however, players sometimes do not pass through the goal and instead jump over the band 11, which is a fence, to return to the player bench 9 or return to the ice. As such, it may not be possible to accurately manage the entry into and exit from the player bench 9.It is therefore preferable to also use an acceleration sensor to supplement the management of the entry and exit based on reception results of the RFID receiver 2a. That is, as in the case of the RF tag 2b, when an acceleration sensor (not shown) is attached to the protective equipment of each player, the field strength of the players on the player bench 9 is constant, and the field strength of players on the ice varies depending on the location of the player. As such, it is preferable to check whether or not a player is on the ice by considering the field strength from the acceleration sensor 16, and determine whether or not a player is on the player bench 9 together with the reception results from the RFID receiver 2a.Further, with the acceleration sensor, it is possible to measure a distance travelled, a maximum speed, an average speed, a running distance on the ice (track map) of each player, and the number of times each player has touched the puck (number of strokes) and the number of shots each player has issued on the gate 13. The various data measured by the acceleration sensor can be transmitted to the converter 3 via the WLAN 8 in the sports shop just as in the wireless vital sensor 1 and the identification sensor 2, and the activity status of each player can be obtained comprehensively from a wide variety of perspectives.Thus, according to the present invention, it is possible to objectively and quantitatively obtain whether each player performs the expected performance, and a manager or the like can quickly decide which individuals from a plurality of individuals are to be added or removed as members constituting a group. As a result, the system may assist in improving overall performance of the group and training an increase in endurance in the future.The embodiments described above show examples in which the present invention is applied to ice-shock players, but it is obvious that the present invention can be applied to other team sports such as football, fullyball and the like. In football, fullyball and the like, no more players are sequentially exchanged as a group as in Eishockey. Instead, the players collect on the site around the manager during the half-time, interrupts, and other pauses. Preferably, these pauses are used to obtain the activity status of each player with the measuring device 100 including the wireless vital sensor 1 and the player bank 9.In addition, an activity status measuring apparatus employing the wireless vital sensor, the identification sensor, and the converter of the present invention can be employed in addition to sports in situations where a plurality of people are gathered in a given area such as a hospital or care station (especially in cases of emergency) and where each individual is in a particular bed or stretcher is not determined to reliably obtain the biometric data of each individual. Thus, the present invention is a technology with high industrial utility.Embodiments of the present invention may be embodied in any of a variety of forms. For example, in some embodiments, the present invention may be implemented as a computer-implemented method, a computer-readable storage medium, or a computer system. In other embodiments, the present invention may be implemented using one or more application specific hardware devices such as ASICs. In other embodiments, the present invention may be implemented using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs.In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium may be configured to store program instructions and / or data, wherein the program instructions, when executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform a method, e.g., any of method embodiments described herein, or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets.In some embodiments, a user device may be configured to include a processor (or a series of processors) and a storage medium, the storage medium storing program instructions, the processor configured to read and execute the program instructions from the storage medium, the program instructions executable to implement any of the various method embodiments described herein (or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The device may be implemented in any of various forms.Although the above embodiments have been described in great detail, those skilled in the art will appreciate numerous alterations and modifications once having fully obtained the foregoing disclosure. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to include all such alterations and modifications.

Claims

A measurement device comprising: a plurality of wireless vital sensors attached to predetermined attachment locations on a player bench and, optionally, supplementally to a band, wherein the wireless vital sensors are configured to contactless sense biometric data including body temperature, respiration, pulse and / or blood pressure of each of a group of individuals for a predetermined time after the individual enters a sensing area of any of the plurality of vital sensors, and wherein the wireless vital sensors are configured to repeatedly sense biometric data of individuals as the individual exits the sensing area according to the expiration of the predetermined time and then enters the sensing area of any of the plurality of vital sensors again, wherein the vital sensors each have a Doppler sensor configuration, and wherein the vital sensors are configured to sense biometric data of individuals repeatedly, wherein output is made 10 mW or less, respectively; a plurality of identification sensors, and each of the identification sensors includes a transmitter and a receiver for wirelessly transmitting ID data of the individual, the receiver being positioned near the vital sensor associated with the receiver, and the receiver accepting the ID data from the transmitter upon entry of the transmitter attached to the individual into a receiving area of the receiver; and a converter for associating the biometric data sensed by the associated wireless vital sensor for a period of accepting the ID data of the receiver, with the individual identified by the ID data, and transmitting to an information processing terminal.The measurement apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the converter is configured to convert the ID data and the associated biometric data into a JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format before being sent to the information processing terminal.A measurement device comprising: a plurality of wireless vital sensors attached to predetermined attachment locations on a player bench and, optionally, supplementally to a band, wherein the wireless vital sensors are configured to contactless sense biometric data including body temperature, respiration, pulse and / or blood pressure of each of a group of individuals upon entry of the individual into a sensing area of any of the plurality of vital sensors, wherein the vital sensors each have a Doppler sensor configuration and wherein the vital sensors are configured to output each at 10 mW or less of a plurality of identification sensors, and wherein each of the identification sensors comprises a transmitter and a receiver to wirelessly transmit ID data of the individual, wherein the receiver is positioned proximate the vital sensor associated with the receiver, and the receiver accepts the ID data upon entry of the transmitter attached to the individual into a receiving area of the receiver from the transmitter; and a converter for associating the biometric data sensed by the associated wireless vital sensor for a period of time of acceptance of the ID data of the receiver with the individual identified by the ID data and transmitting to an information processing terminal, wherein the information processing terminal provides data reflecting at least one of a post-activity status and an activity recovery status of each individual using statistical data based on the biometric data of each individual.The measurement device according to claim 3, wherein a predetermined indication or alarm is presented when the activity recovery status exceeds a predetermined threshold.

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