Athletic Feedback via Music Tempo Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Individuals engaging in solitary athletic activities, such as running or bicycling, often lack immediate and direct feedback to motivate their performance, as existing monitoring devices require user attention and may not provide timely feedback, and audio content management can be inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A system that compares real-time athletic data with baseline data to provide feedback through music or spoken encouragement, integrated with a digital music player, allowing continuous playback without diverting the user's attention, and automatically selects and transfers sufficient audio content based on the activity duration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If monitoring devices are used to provide immediate feedback, then athletic performance feedback is improved, but user attention is diverted from the activity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses music as an intermediary carrier to transmit performance feedback. Instead of directly displaying data that requires visual attention, the system encodes feedback into music playback characteristics (tempo, genre, volume) that can be perceived auditorily without diverting visual attention from the athletic activity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional visual/mechanical feedback displays with an acoustic/music-based feedback system. The monitoring device continues to collect data, but the feedback mechanism shifts from visual displays requiring attention to music playback that can be experienced peripherally during the activity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If digital music players are used for audible content, then user motivation is improved, but audio content duration management becomes problematic
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors athletic performance data and uses this feedback to dynamically adjust music playback in real-time. The music tempo, genre, and other characteristics are automatically modified based on current performance metrics, creating a closed-loop system that adapts to the user's state without requiring manual intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The music playback system transitions from a static, pre-selected playlist to a dynamic system that continuously adapts its characteristics based on real-time performance data. The music parameters (tempo, genre, volume) are not fixed but change dynamically to match the user's athletic state and provide appropriate motivation.
3Reliability
If music tempo is adjusted based on performance, then performance feedback effectiveness is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the music player serve multiple functions: it acts as both a standard music playback device and a performance feedback system. The same music playback infrastructure is used to deliver both entertainment and performance feedback, eliminating the need for separate feedback hardware and reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the performance monitoring function with the music playback function into a single integrated system. The monitoring device and music player work together as one unified system where music serves dual purposes as both entertainment and feedback mechanism, reducing the number of separate components needed.
Data Source
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AI summary
An apparatus compares athletic information relating to a user performing an athletic activity. The apparatus has a module (503, 505, 509) that generates a first set of athletic data corresponding to athletic information corresponding to the athletic activity performed by the user. The module has a memory (511) storing a second set of athletic data. The module compares the first set of athletic data to the second set of athletic data and communicates content to the user based on the comparison of the first set of athletic data to the second set of athletic data. The apparatus also has a module (803, 805) that determines the expected time of athletic activity and selects a set of feedback data having a duration proximate the expected time of athletic activity, wherein the module communicates the selected set of feedback data to the user.