Exercise Machine Controls via Instructor Audio Video Sync
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing exercise machines lack efficient controls that allow users to accurately modify parameters during workouts, especially when performing motion-based activities, and do not correspond to verbal cues from instructors.
Innovation Solution
A method that captures audio and video content of an instructor performing an exercise class, identifies performance commands, generates executable controls corresponding to these commands, and integrates them into a video file for display on exercise machines, allowing users to modify machine parameters accurately based on verbal cues.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional physical controls (buttons, switches, knobs) are provided on exercise machines, then users can modify machine parameters, but it becomes difficult to accurately select settings during motion-based activities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces physical mechanical controls (buttons, switches, knobs) with a touchscreen display interface. The touchscreen allows users to interact with the system through touch gestures rather than manipulating physical components, making it easier to select and modify machine parameters accurately during exercise activities without the precision problems associated with physical controls.
2Adaptability or versatility
If exercise machines provide manual controls for parameter adjustment, then users can modify settings, but the controls do not correspond to verbal cues from instructors
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates audio recording and processing capabilities that capture instructor verbal cues and provide visual feedback through the touchscreen display. The display shows graphical representations of instructor commands (such as speed increases, resistance changes, or rest periods) that correspond directly to the verbal instructions, creating a feedback loop that connects instructor commands with machine parameter adjustments.
Solution Approach 2:
The touchscreen display acts as an intermediary between the instructor's verbal commands and the machine's physical controls. It translates audio input from instructors into visual cues and automatically generates control signals that adjust machine parameters, bridging the gap between human instruction and machine response without requiring direct manual intervention.
3Device complexity
If exercise machines use standard controls, then the design is simple, but users cannot easily follow along with exercise classes
Solution Approach 1:
The touchscreen display serves multiple functions simultaneously: it displays visual exercise instructions, records and processes audio from instructors, provides real-time feedback on machine parameters, and enables user interaction for control adjustments. This multi-functional approach consolidates what would otherwise require separate systems into a single universal interface, maintaining relative simplicity while dramatically improving the ability to follow exercise classes.
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes providing a first video file to a plurality of exercise machines, the first video file including content associated with an exercise class. The method also includes receiving user data from the plurality of exercise machines, the user data including respective settings associated with a common performance metric. In such a method, the respective settings are used on the plurality of exercise machines during playback of a particular part of the first video file. The method also includes identifying a timestamp associated with the particular part of the first video file, and generating an executable control corresponding to the performance metric. The method further includes generating a second video file comprising the content and the executable control. In such methods, playback of the second video file causes display of the executable control at a part of the second video file corresponding to the timestamp.