PORTABLE INSTRUMENT FOR CONTROLLING A SPORT OR FITNESS ACTIVITY

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The invention relates to a portable instrument, such as a watch, equipped with a device for controlling or managing a sporting or wellness activity of a person wearing the portable instrument while active.

[0002] The invention also relates to a method of managing a sporting or wellness activity using the portable instrument in operation. STATE OF THE ART

[0003] Walking speeds or paces are among the most important parameters for characterizing people's daily mobility. For example, in sports applications, speed can be used to assess athletes and thus prepare personalized training sessions, with the aim of improving each athlete's performance and reducing the risk of injury. In medical applications, speed is used to assess a person's health, with the aim of helping doctors to diagnose, predict, and prevent many diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or obesity.

[0004] A Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is a widely used basic system for measuring things like a person's walking speed. Such a GNSS system is accurate, and many handheld devices have been designed to incorporate such a transponder, whose measurements can be used to calculate a person's walking speed even in real-world conditions. However, there are some places where the GNSS signal is weak or may even be lost due to a lack of satellite coverage, such as inside tunnels, near tall buildings, or in narrow valleys. Furthermore, a GNSS transponder consumes a significant amount of power. Therefore, it is best used intermittently rather than continuously to reduce the power consumption of the handheld device that incorporates it.

[0005] Patent application WO 2018 / 106319 A1 describes a portable instrument, such as a mobile phone or smartwatch, for estimating a person's movement parameters in real time, such as speed or walking / running cadence. The instrument includes a GNSS transponder with a Kalman filter to determine a first velocity derived from the person's GNSS positions, a second velocity derived from the Doppler shifts of the GNSS signals, and an observed number of steps taken by the user. The instrument also includes motion detection units, which can provide a velocity derived from the GNSS positions and a velocity derived from the GNSS Doppler shifts. However, the instrument's GNSS transponder is used for extended periods to determine a person's speed or walking cadence, resulting in high power consumption and constituting a drawback.

[0006] Patent application WO 2012 / 045484 A1 describes a GPS-calibrated pedometer system. The system can be worn by a person, such as a sports watch. The system includes a GNSS receiver designed to obtain the person's position and / or speed, and a pedometer for counting the person's steps. The data from the GNSS receiver is used to calibrate the pedometer each time the user is determined to walk a distance greater than a predefined distance value for a period during which the signals obtained by the GNSS receiver are accurate. As with the previous document, the instrument's GNSS receiver is used for extended periods to determine the person's speed or walking cadence, resulting in high power consumption and constituting a drawback.

[0007] US Patent 7,245,254 B1 describes an electronic exercise device for monitoring a person's activity or mobility. The electronic device continuously calculates the user's steps using a GPS positioning circuit and a computer instrument, performing an iterative calibration process. The device therefore includes a GPS circuit, a pedometer, an accelerometer, a pulse control sensor, and a temperature sensor. When GPS satellite signals are available, the GPS circuit corrects for the accumulated error of the pedometer and / or accelerometer. As with previous patents, the instrument's GPS circuit is used for extended periods to continuously determine steps or physical parameters of the person, resulting in high power consumption and representing a drawback.

[0008] US patent application 2018 / 0356534 A1 describes a wearable device, such as a wristwatch, comprising a GPS position sensing unit, a sensor unit, and a processing unit connected to both the position sensing unit and the sensor unit. The device is used in an exercise support system. Worn on a user's wrist during a run, the device is capable of displaying position, speed, and distance traveled, among other data. It includes at least one motion sensor connected to the processing unit and a GNSS receiver module. The GPS module is activated only for short periods by the processing unit, and the user's movement status is monitored to deactivate the GPS module if the movement status does not change. There are no provisions for adjusting the activation or deactivation times of the GPS module.

[0009] US patent application 2013 / 0271314 A1 describes a portable device that can be used for sporting activities with a GNSS receiver module. The portable device further includes a motion sensor connected to a processing unit, which is also connected to the GNSS receiver module. A controller module is provided to instruct the processing unit to perform velocity calculations based on the motion sensor measurements when the GNSS receiver module is in a low-power state for specified time intervals. There are no provisions for adjusting the activation or deactivation times of the GPS module. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0010] The invention therefore aims to overcome the aforementioned disadvantages with a portable instrument equipped with a device for controlling or managing a sporting or wellness activity of a person wearing the portable instrument and by reducing the operating time of a GNSS receiver module of the device in order to reduce power consumption while accurately determining the person's daily mobility by the device.

[0011] For this purpose, the invention relates to a portable instrument equipped with a device for controlling or managing a sporting or wellness activity of a person wearing the portable instrument, which includes the features of independent claim 1.

[0012] Specific embodiments of the portable instrument are defined in dependent claims 2 to 6.

[0013] One advantage of the portable instrument equipped with the control device lies in its ability to activate the GNSS receiver module for short periods to detect changes in a person's cadence or gait profile. This reduces the control device's power consumption while simultaneously calibrating it for the individual using it over the long term. The control device learns the person's daily mobility pattern, allowing for personalized and self-adaptive calibration through the short-period activation of the GNSS receiver module, which precisely determines speed data.

[0014] Advantageously, before the GNSS receiver module can be reactivated, a deactivation time must elapse, regardless of whether new walking or gait patterns or profiles are received. To achieve this, the GNSS receiver module's activation time is approximately five times shorter than its deactivation time.

[0015] To that end, the invention also relates to a method of managing a person's sporting or wellness activity by means of the portable instrument, which includes the features mentioned in independent claim 7.

[0016] Specific steps in the process of managing a sporting activity or a person's well-being are defined in dependent claims 8 to 11. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0017] The purposes, advantages, and characteristics of a portable instrument or method for managing a sporting activity or a person's well-being will be best illustrated in the following description based on at least one non-limiting embodiment shown in the drawings on which: there figure 1 is a perspective view of a person wearing the portable instrument in the form of a wristwatch according to the invention, the figure 2 represents a simplified view of a person carrying the portable instrument, which, according to one embodiment, comprises three parts according to the invention, the figure 3 is a schematic perspective view of a path followed by a person equipped with the portable device during a walk or run, the figure 4represents a simplified block diagram of the electronic components of the control or management device for a person's sporting or wellness activity, of the portable instrument according to the invention, the figure 5 represents different stages of a process for managing a sporting or wellness activity of a person wearing the portable device according to the invention, the figure 6 represents a graph of the decreasing exponential probabilities for different values ​​of β for the activation of the GNSS receiver module of the control device according to the invention, the figure 7 represents a comparative diagram of the results of the GNSS strategy for a person over time, with, on the one hand, the GPS receiver module permanently activated and, on the other hand, the GPS receiver module partially activated following changes in the person's gait profile, and the figure 8represents a comparative diagram of the relative speed error as a function of the percentage of people using the personalized handheld instrument with, on the one hand, the GPS receiver module permanently activated and, on the other hand, the GPS receiver module partially activated following changes in the people's walking profile. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] In the following description, all the electronic components of a portable device, equipped with a control system for monitoring a person's sporting or wellness activity while wearing the device, and which are well known to a person skilled in this technical field, are described only in a simplified manner. It should be noted that the objective is to manage a person's sporting or wellness activity, i.e., walking. It should be understood that defining a person as simply walking or a gait also includes running, for example.

[0019] There figure 1 represents a person 1 standing with their feet in contact with the ground. Person 1 is wearing a portable device 3, which in this embodiment is a wristwatch worn on their left wrist 2, for example. The wristwatch 3 is equipped with a device for controlling or managing a sporting or wellness activity, as explained below. The smartwatch 3 is configured by its control device to monitor the activity and infer various parameters of person 1 while they are moving on foot (i.e., running or walking) along a path 4, the variations in altitude or slope of which are intentionally exaggerated, as shown in figure 3The control device includes at least one motion sensor, which may be a one- or two-axis or preferably three-axis measurement accelerometer, and also, for example, at least one pressure sensor, such as a barometer or altimeter to determine altitude or slope when walking or running on a path or trail in nature or in an urban area.

[0020] To the figure 2According to one embodiment, person 1 wears a portable instrument 3, which may consist of three parts 3', 3", 3"' not directly mechanically connected, but electrically or wirelessly connected. These three parts comprise all the components of the control device. In a first part 3' of the portable instrument 3, which is attached, for example, to person 1's left wrist 2 in the form of a bracelet or wristwatch, at least one first sensor of the control device is provided. This first part 3' may include a processing unit for handling all the data or measurements from the three parts of the portable instrument 3. This first sensor may be a motion sensor with at least one accelerometer, for example, with three measuring axes. The motion sensor may also be a 9-axis inertial motion sensor having a triaxial accelerometer, a triaxial gyroscope, and a triaxial magnetic sensor.In a second 3" section of the wearable instrument 3, which is attached, for example, to the right wrist of person 1 in the form of a bracelet, at least one second sensor of the control device is provided. This second sensor can be a pressure sensor, such as an altimeter or barometer. Finally, in a third 3" section of the wearable instrument 3, which is mounted on the head of person 1 in a headband or helmet, the GNSS receiver module is provided, which is used as a reference method.

[0021] It should be noted that the motion sensor can also be a 10-axis inertial sensor with a triaxial accelerometer, a triaxial gyroscope, a triaxial magnetic sensor, and a barometer to determine local coordinates and the slope of the path taken by person 1. Furthermore, placing a 10-axis inertial sensor at each foot would allow for a simpler and more accurate measurement of the number of steps and the walking or running cadence of the person wearing the portable device. Placing the reference GNSS receiver module on the head is the best position to avoid dependence on arm or leg movement.

[0022] There figure 4The diagram more precisely represents the various electronic components of the control device 10 or the management system for a person's sporting or wellness activity of the portable instrument according to the invention. The control device 10 includes at least one motion sensor 13 connected to a processing unit 15, which may be a microcontroller clocked by an integrated oscillator (not shown). The control device 10 further includes a GNSS receiver module 11 controlled by the processing unit 15 to activate or deactivate it. The control device 10 may further include a pressure sensor 14, which is a barometer or an altimeter, connected to the computing unit 15, and at least one memory 16 connected to the computing unit 15, such as a non-volatile memory 16 capable of storing different measurements taken by the sensor(s) 13, 14 or measurements received by GPS signals from visible satellites 22 by an antenna 12 connected to the GNSS receiver module 11.The control device 10 is generally powered by a battery not shown in the portable instrument for its operation.

[0023] The computing unit 15, which is a microcontroller, may include, in addition to the oscillator, a first counter to determine the activation time of the GNSS receiver module 11 and a second counter to determine the deactivation time of the GNSS receiver module 11. A first switching threshold is provided in connection with the first counter and a second switching threshold is provided in connection with the second counter, as explained below with reference to the management process. figure 5 The activation time and deactivation time determined in the computing unit 15 or microcontroller can be defined by means other than a time counter.

[0024] The computing unit 15, such as the microcontroller, may have stored a calculation algorithm for estimating the speed or cadence of a person's movement. It may also be possible to store the algorithm in non-volatile memory 16. This algorithm, incorporated here by reference, was presented by Mr. Abolfazl Soltani, et al., in the article entitled "Real-world gait speed estimation using wrist sensor: A personalized approach," published in the IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics (2019). Speed ​​data are therefore collected and preferably stored in non-volatile memory 16 or volatile memory to characterize a person's walking or running styles or profiles in daily life using satellite signals 22 and signals from sensors 13, 14.It is therefore possible to define a custom pattern so that the GNSS receiver module 11 is only activated when there are variations in movement or pressure that deviate from previously known and stored variations. This reduces the overall power consumption of the control device 10, as it is powered by a small battery.

[0025] To better understand how the control device works, reference is now made to the process of managing a sporting or wellness activity of a person wearing the portable device, in reference to the figure 5 As previously stated in the present invention, the proposed GNSS strategy is to activate the GNSS receiver module whenever there are new walking or gait patterns or profiles of a person during daily life. In the figure 5The diagram of the different stages of the proposed GNSS intelligent strategy, as described below, is shown. In this scenario, the control device includes both the motion sensor and the pressure sensor, but generally at least the motion sensor is required.

[0026] FIFO buffer interrupt 50: In this step, the intelligent strategy waits for a FIFO buffer interrupt indicating the presence of new samples due to movement variations in a gait profile not yet stored. This FIFO buffer can be part of the memory storing speed data and different gait profiles.

[0027] Feature extraction 51The proposed algorithm uses a 3D accelerometer and a barometric pressure sensor in this example to provide a 3D accelerometer signal (A(t)) and a pressure signal (P(t)). The signals are segmented every second using a 6-second moving window with a 5-second overlap to provide a segmented acceleration (A[n]) and a pressure signal (P[n]), where n denotes the window number. Sx[n], Sy[n], and Sz[n] have been designated as segmented accelerations along the three measurement axes of the accelerometer.

[0028] Regarding the second-time moving windows, these are successive moving windows, each lasting 6 seconds and overlapping by 5 seconds with the next. Thus, the successive windows are offset by 1 second each time. The timing of these moving measurement windows is achieved via the microcontroller's oscillator and, if necessary, a series of dividers. With these measurement windows, it is possible to detect a person's immobility, uncertainty in movement variations, or the person's mobility. The person's mobility or movement is a necessary but not sufficient parameter for directly triggering the activation of the GNSS receiver module.

[0029] When new data from motion sensors, such as accelerometers, and pressure sensors, such as barometers, become available, two features are extracted according to equations (1) and (2) below. These features are specifically chosen because they allow for the grouping of different gait patterns or profiles and their inherent characteristics (e.g., fast / slow running, uphill / downhill, etc.). A 6-second window with a 5-second overlap with other successive windows is used for feature extraction. F 1 n = − ∑ i = 1 q i − i ¯ ⋅ P i n − P ¯ n ∑ i = 1 q i − i ¯ 2 ⋅ F s F 2 n = std S y n 1 q ∑ i = 1 q S y i n − S y i − 1 n where q is the number of samples in window number n, Fs is the sampling frequency (500 Hz in this case), and pi[n] is the i-th sample of the pressure vector in window number n. Furthermore, pi[n] and i are calculated based on equations (3) and (4). Std denotes a standard deviation where Sy[n] is an acceleration value recorded on the sensor's y-axis. Additionally, Si[n] is the i-th sample of the vector Sy[n]. P ¯ n = 1 q ∑ i = 1 q P i n i ¯ = 1 q ∑ i = 1 q i

[0030] Classification of walking models or profiles 52The gait, running, or cadence model or profile is defined based on the values ​​of F1 and F2 in an unrepresented histogram table. At this stage, the goal is to determine whether the sensor data contains new information for training the speed model. To this end, a histogram table is designed where each column is related to F1 and each row is related to F2. The selected margin (RF1) and resolution (dF1) for F1 are defined, for example, with RF1 = [-0.07 to +0.07] and dF1 = 0.035. Similarly, the margin (RF2) and resolution (dF2) for F2 are defined, for example, with RF2 = [0 to 5] and dF2 = 0.5. In this case, the space created by<F1, F2> contains 55 cells used to group each model or gait profile, and each cell in the histogram table shows the number of occurrences of the adaptation data in the cell.

[0031] Finally, using equation (5), the number of occurrences is translated into a probability value indicating the probability of starting the GNSS receiver module if a new sample is in the margin of one of these cells received from the sensors. P i = 2 − N i β where Ni is the number of occurrences in each cell and β is the number of times a situation must appear to reach half the value of the exponential curve as represented in the figure 6 Curve c1 is for β equal to 10. Curve c2 is for β equal to 25. Curve c3 is for β equal to 50. Curve c4 is for β equal to 100. Curve c5 is for β equal to 250. At the start of customization, the histogram table is filled with zeros and all probabilities are equal to 1.

[0032] GNSS Status Check 53 : at this stage, the state of the GNSS receiver module (ON / OFF) is analyzed to find the correct line of execution in the algorithm.

[0033] Histogram update 54: If the GNSS receiver module is already ON, the histogram table containing the number of occurrences of each model or walking profile is updated.

[0034] T ON > min T ON ? 55Each time the algorithm detects that the GNSS receiver module is ON, the corresponding counter (T ON), which is part of the processing unit or microcontroller, is compared to a threshold (min T ON). T ON represents the number of consecutive times (expressed in seconds) that the GNSS receiver module is used. The min T ON threshold prevents the GNSS receiver module from changing its state too frequently, as this would cause unstable behavior and higher current consumption. It is important to consider that the time between the moment the voltage is applied to the control device with the GNSS receiver module and the useful measurements from the GNSS receiver module are received can be several seconds. In the GNSS field, this time is known as TTFF (Time To First Fix), and its value can vary greatly depending on the initial state of the receiver and environmental conditions.Therefore, the ON decision to change the state of the GNSS receiver module will have certain restrictions on the minimum number of times the GNSS receiver module must remain in the same state. These restrictions are governed by the value of the min T ON threshold, which can be set, for example, to 2 minutes, which is the activation time of the GNSS receiver module.

[0035] T ON ++ 56 : if the threshold condition is not met or the GNSS receiver module remains in the same state after the execution of the GNSS receiver module switching decision, the T ON counter is incremented.

[0036] T OFF > min T OFF ? 57Each time the algorithm detects that the GNSS receiver module is OFF, the corresponding counter (T OFF), which is part of the processing unit or microcontroller, is compared to a threshold (min T OFF). T OFF represents the number of consecutive times (expressed in seconds) that the GNSS receiver module is not used. The same restrictions to prevent the GNSS receiver module from switching states too quickly are governed by the value of the min T OFF threshold, which can be set, for example, to 10 minutes.This threshold value (deactivation time) can also be defined as larger to take into account walking profiles already known and memorized, and given that at least a smaller activation time of the GNSS receiver module is planned, for example at least 5 times smaller, in order to be able to determine precisely by the activated GNSS receiver module a distance, a position or preferably a speed in a personal calibration operation of the control device.

[0037] T OFF ++ 58 : if the threshold condition is not exceeded or the GNSS receiver module remains in the same state after the execution of the GNSS receiver module switching decision, the T OFF counter is incremented.

[0038] GNSS receiver module switching decision 59, 60Based on the probability calculated using equation (5), an ON decision is made regarding whether or not to switch the state of the GNSS receiver module. For example, if the GNSS receiver module is OFF and the probability of switching ON is 75%, a random probability value in the range [0 to 100] is generated, for example, using a normal distribution. Later, if the generated random probability is less than the probability of switching ON (i.e., 75%), a decision to switch the GNSS receiver module ON is generated. This makes sense because higher probabilities are expected when new situations arise, and therefore it is unlikely that the generated random probability will have a larger value.Similarly, if the GNSS receiver module is ON and the probability of switching OFF is 75%, the GNSS receiver module would only be switched OFF if the generated random probability is greater than 75% in that case. Again, this makes sense because low probabilities are expected when the GNSS receiver module is ON, as certain situations are already trained, and it is unlikely that the generated random probability would be lower.

[0039] Enable GNSS (ON)? 61 : if the GNSS receiver module is OFF, the GNSS receiver module switching decision is controlled to switch it ON.

[0040] Disable GNSS (OFF)? 62 : if the GNSS receiver module is ON, the switching decision of the GNSS receiver module is controlled to switch it OFF.

[0041] Reset T ON, T OFF 63: if the switching decision of the GNSS receiver module is affirmative, the T ON , T OFF counters are reset and the algorithm will start waiting again for a FIFO buffer interrupt at step 50.

[0042] As a result of analyzing the performance of the intelligent strategy of the GNSS receiver module, the focus is on the following parameters: Level of convergence The Recursive Least Squares (RLS) algorithm is used to build a custom speed estimation model. The level of convergence, or "learning process," can be studied by examining at least the first element on the diagonal of the sample covariance matrix. This value is used to study the convergence of the speed estimation model compared to the case where samples from the GNSS receiver module are always used.

[0043] Use of the GNSS receiver moduleEach time the GNSS receiver module is used, a counter is incremented in the microcontroller. This counter is used to monitor the number of times the GNSS receiver module is used, as required by the intelligent GNSS strategy, and to study the feasibility and impact of reducing this usage time.

[0044] Relative speed error The relative error for each estimated velocity sample is calculated using the following expression: Rel . Speed Error = v ^ − v ^ ref v ^ ref ⋅ 100 where v is the estimated speed and v ref is the GNSS reference speed.

[0045] There figure 7This illustrates the results of applying the intelligent GNSS strategy to one of the participants in a defined database M3. This database contains data solely from running situations. The participants are unconstrained and wear the sensors during their normal running training and along their usual trajectory. This database is stored in the control device worn on the wrist of participant 1, for example.

[0046] As can be seen in the figure 7The GNSS receiver module of participant 1 is only used and activated for 7.2% of the total duration, which is approximately 36 hours, i.e., 157.1833 minutes. The various vertical lines define the activation times of the GNSS receiver module of the present invention. Thus, the distance / speed measurement error of the S1 signal of the GNSS receiver module activated by time periods is considered low, and the S1 signal is close to a GPS signal (S) from a GNSS receiver module that would be continuously activated for the entire 36 hours. The graph more precisely represents the level of convergence of the personalization (S1), which is expressed by the first element in the diagonal of the sample covariance matrix, and which is reasonably close in the case where the GNSS receiver module is always activated (S GPS).

[0047] Finally in the figure 8The relative error in speed estimation for different individuals (percentage of individuals) is shown. To compare the performance of the GNSS smart strategy with the case where the GNSS receiver module is used continuously, the relative error is calculated using equation (6) for both situations. Indeed, when the GNSS receiver module is always used, the relative error only includes the tracking error of the RLS algorithm when attempting to track the speed reference. On the other hand, when the GNSS smart strategy is applied, the relative error also includes the error added by the speed estimation model when the training process is interrupted. figure 8 shows the results for different people when the intelligent GNSS strategy is applied to all participants in the M3 database.

[0048] If all participants are taken into consideration, the relative error is around 6.5% when the GNSS receiver module is continuously activated according to the G1 ON curve. This increases to 7.5% once the intelligent GNSS strategy is applied according to the G1 curve for the GNSS receiver module of the present invention. On the other hand, if only participants whose recordings contain at least 10 hours of data are included, the relative error in the speed estimation is less than 5% according to the G10 ON curve when the GNSS receiver module is activated 100% of the time. After the application of the intelligent GNSS strategy, the relative error is close to 6% according to the G10 curve with GNSS receiver module activation below 10%.With this in mind, and as illustrated in the preceding figures, it is clear that the proposed strategy of the present invention can achieve a significant reduction in the use or activation of the GNSS receiver module while maintaining a reasonably low error in the speed estimation. Furthermore, the stability and convergence level of the RL model appear acceptable compared to the case where the GNSS receiver module is always activated (ON). The duration of successive activations of the GNSS receiver module can therefore be less than 10% of the total operating time of the control device by the computing unit's algorithm, i.e., with a maximum GNSS receiver module activation time of approximately 5 hours, the GNSS receiver module being deactivated after a total operating time of 50 hours of the control device.Thus the control device of the portable instrument can be powered by a small battery, such as a wristwatch battery.

[0049] Based on the above description, several embodiments of the portable instrument equipped with the device for monitoring a person's sporting or wellness activity and the method for activating the monitoring device are possible without departing from the scope of the invention defined by the following claims. One or more non-volatile memory chips may be provided and detachable from the monitoring device to equip another portable instrument with all the recorded movement data or personalized gait profiles dedicated to a specific individual. The portable instrument may be powered by a battery, a solar cell, or a thermoelectric generator.

Claims

1. A portable instrument (3) provided with a device (10) for controlling or managing a sports or wellness activity of a person (1) wearing the portable instrument (3), the control device (10) comprising a microcontroller (15), a motion sensor (13) which comprises at least one three-dimensional accelerometer for providing an accelerometer signal A(t) to the microcontroller (15), a barometric pressure sensor (14) for providing a pressure signal to the microcontroller (15), and a GNSS receiver module (11) connected to the microcontroller, the microcontroller (15) being arranged to activate the GNSS receiver module (11) for an activation time defined according to movement variations detected by the motion sensor (13) and deviating from known movement data or walking profiles in order to determine at least one reference velocity for the person, and to deactivate the GNSS receiver module (11) after the activation time for a deactivation time greater than the activation time, the activation time of the GNSS receiver module being approximately five times shorter than the deactivation time of the GNSS receiver module, the portable instrument (3) being designed to estimate the velocity or pace of the movement of a person (1) wearing the portable instrument (3) using a calculation algorithm in the microcontroller (15), in order to also control the activation or deactivation of the GNSS receiver module (11), characterised in that the microcontroller (15) is designed to segment the accelerometer signal and the pressure signal every second using a mobile window with a first duration with an overlap of a second duration with a successive mobile window to provide a segmented acceleration and a segmented pressure signal so as to determine in the microcontroller (15) if the walking model or profile detected is a new model or profile that has not yet been saved.

2. The portable instrument (3) according to claim 1, in which the control device (10) comprises at least one memory (16) connected to the microcontroller (15) for memorising at least velocity data and various customised walking or running profiles of the person wearing the portable instrument (3).

3. The portable instrument (3) according to claim 2, in which the memory (16) connected to the microcontroller (15) comprises a recorded calculation algorithm for estimating the velocity or the pace of the movement of a person (1) wearing the portable instrument (3).

4. The portable instrument (3) according to claim 1, characterised in that the microcontroller (15) comprises a first counter connecting to a first switching threshold to determine the activation time of the GNSS receiver module (11) and a second counter connecting to a second switching threshold to determine the deactivation time of the GNSS receiver module (11).

5. The portable instrument (3) according to claim 1, characterised in that the motion sensor is an inertial motion sensor with 9 axes having a triaxial accelerometer, a triaxial gyroscope and a triaxial magnetic sensor or an inertial motion sensor with 10 axes having a triaxial accelerometer, a triaxial gyroscope, a triaxial magnetic sensor, and a barometer.

6. The portable instrument (3) according to claim 1, which is in the form of a wristwatch (3) powered by a battery.

7. A method for managing a sports or wellness activity of a person (1) wearing a portable instrument (3), which is provided with a control device (10), the control device (10) comprising a microcontroller, a motion sensor (13) which comprises at least one three-dimensional accelerometer for providing an accelerometer signal A(t) to the microcontroller (15), a barometric pressure sensor (14) for providing a pressure signal to the microcontroller (15 and a GNSS receiver module (11) connected to the microcontroller (15), the method comprising the following steps: - activating the GNSS receiver module (11) for an activation time defined according to movement variations detected by the motion sensor (13) and deviating from known movement data or walking profiles, - determining at least one reference distance or velocity for the person subsequent to the activation of the GNSS receiver module (11) by reception of GPS signals from satellites (22), and - deactivating the GNSS receiver module (11) after the activation time for a deactivation time greater than the activation time, the activation time of the GNSS receiver module being approximately five times shorter than the deactivation time of the GNSS receiver module, in which an estimation of the velocity or of the pace of the movement of a person (1) wearing the portable instrument (3) is made using a calculation algorithm in the microcontroller (15), in order to also control the activation or deactivation of the GNSS receiver module (11), characterised in that the accelerometer signal and the pressure signal are segmented every second using a mobile window with a first duration with an overlap of a second duration with a successive mobile window to provide a segmented acceleration and a segmented pressure signal so as to determine in the microcontroller (15) if the walking model or profile detected is a new model or profile that has not yet been saved.

8. The management method according to claim 7, characterised in that the first duration is equal to 6 seconds and the second duration is equal to 5 seconds according to a timing of an oscillator of the microcontroller (15).

9. The management method according to claim 7, in which the microcontroller (15) comprises a first counter (56) for determining an activation time for the GNSS receiver module (11) and a second counter (58) for determining a deactivation time for the GNSS receiver module (11), characterised in that after the walking model or profile has been determined, the GNSS receiver module (11) is checked as to whether it is already in an activated state or in a deactivated state, in that if the GNSS receiver module (11) is already in an activated state, the state of the first counter is checked to determine whether the state of the first counter is below a first minimum threshold; if this is the case, the first counter is incremented and the previous steps of the method are repeated; otherwise, if it is above the first threshold, it is checked as to whether a decision to switch the GNSS receiver module (11) must be made in order to determine whether the GNSS receiver module (11) must be deactivated, and in that if the GNSS receiver module (11) is already in a deactivated state, the state of the second counter is checked to determine whether the state of the second counter is below a second minimum threshold; if this is the case, the second counter is incremented and the previous steps of the method are repeated; otherwise, if it is above the second threshold, it is checked as to whether a decision to switch the GNSS receiver module (11) must be made in order to determine whether the GNSS receiver module (11) must be activated.

10. The management method according to claim 9, characterised in that the activation time of the GNSS receiver module (11) defined by the first counter (56) is set to 2 minutes, and in that the deactivation time of the GNSS receiver module (11) defined by the second counter (58) is greater than 10 minutes and depends on new walking models or profiles detected.

11. The management method according to claim 7, characterised in that by turning the control device (10) on when the portable instrument (3) is used by the person (1), the duration of the successive activation of the GNSS receiver module (11) is less than 10% of the total time in which the control device (10) is used by the calculation algorithm of the microcontroller (15), which means that with a maximum operating time of the GNSS receiver module (11) of approximately 5 hours, said GNSS receiver module (11) no longer being turned on if the portable instrument (3) is powered by a battery beyond a total usage time of the control device (10) of 50 hours.