Exercise Mat with Embedded Lights for Surface Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing exercise mats and entertainment devices provide limited options for user interaction and fail to adapt to varying surface configurations, leading to restricted exercise programs and safety concerns.
Innovation Solution
An exercise mat with embedded LEDs and pressure sensors that communicates with an entertainment device via video input, allowing the device to detect the mat's position, orientation, and configuration, enabling dynamic adjustment of exercise programs and safety protocols based on the surface it is placed on.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the exercise mat uses a flexible body with embedded electronics, then the mat can detect surface configurations and provide adaptive exercise options, but the mat complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The mat is divided into multiple pressure sensing zones that independently detect surface configurations. Each zone can provide localized feedback, allowing the system to identify different surface types (soft, hard, inclined) without requiring a single complex sensing mechanism across the entire mat.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible mat body serves multiple functions: it provides the exercise surface, contains embedded pressure sensors for detection, and integrates lighting elements for feedback. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate devices while maintaining adaptability across different surface configurations.
2Reliability
If the mat includes pressure sensors and lighting elements, then the mat can provide feedback and safety features, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
Pressure sensors and lighting elements are positioned at specific locations on the mat where they are most needed for detection and feedback. This localized placement allows for standardized manufacturing of individual components while maintaining overall system reliability through strategic positioning rather than requiring high precision across the entire mat.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the entertainment device detects mat configuration using video input, then the system can adapt to different surfaces, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The video camera acts as an intermediary between the physical mat configuration and the entertainment device's processing system. Instead of requiring direct complex communication protocols between sensors and the control device, the visual representation of the mat and its lighting patterns provides a simplified interface for detection and interpretation of surface configurations.
4Ease of operation
If the mat uses absorbent natural fibres, then the mat is comfortable for users, but sweat absorption becomes difficult to wash out due to electronics presence
Solution Approach 1:
A waterproof or sacrificial top layer is applied over the flexible mat body, creating a protective barrier that prevents sweat and moisture from penetrating to the electronic components beneath. This thin film layer maintains user comfort by allowing surface-level moisture management while protecting the electronics from contamination and making the mat easier to clean.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances user safety by restricting unsafe exercises on soft surfaces, enabling exercises tailored to the surface type, and providing interactive and adaptive workout experiences through dynamic lighting and feedback mechanisms.
Implementation Method 1
The exercise mat may comprise a plurality of lights distributed over an upper surface... the entertainment device is arranged under suitable software instruction to receive captured video images from the video camera and detect some or all of the lights on the upper surface of the mat
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2E
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AI summary
An exercise system comprises: a flexible exercise mat, in turn comprising a flexible body and a plurality of lights incorporated into the flexible body and visible in use on a surface of the flexible body; and an entertainment device, in turn comprising input means adapted to receive a captured video image of a scene comprising the flexible exercise mat having the plurality of lights visible on its surface, image processing means adapted to detect the positions of the plurality of lights within the video image, and processing means adapted to calculate a configuration of shape adopted by the exercise mat based upon the detected positions of the plurality of lights; wherein in a first mode, the plurality of lights are arranged to indicate a configuration of shape adopted by the exercise mat due to a surface upon which it has been placed, and the entertainment device is operable to modify a behaviour of an application run by the entertainment device in response to a configuration of shape of the exercise mat calculated by the processing means.