Inertial Foot Sensor Overstride Detection and Correction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Runners often suffer from overstriding, which leads to inefficient running form, increased injury risk, and decreased performance due to improper foot landing, where the foot strikes in front of the body's center of gravity, causing braking, instability, and excessive energy expenditure.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising inertial foot sensors and a processing system that compares signals from sensors on different portions of the foot to detect and correct overstriding by providing real-time feedback through a user interface, promoting a more efficient stride by landing closer to the body's center of gravity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the runner uses a longer stride length to improve running speed, then the runner's productivity increases, but the runner experiences overstriding which causes braking effects and decreases stability
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses accelerometers to detect foot strike position relative to the body's center of gravity and provides real-time feedback to the runner through a user interface. This feedback mechanism allows the runner to adjust their stride length and landing position dynamically, maintaining optimal stability while preserving running speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical measurement methods with electronic sensing using accelerometers and signal processing systems. This substitution enables precise detection of foot strike dynamics and center of gravity positioning, allowing for accurate overstride detection without interfering with the runner's natural motion.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the runner increases foot contact time to stabilize landing, then the runner's stability improves, but the runner's speed decreases due to slower stride rate
Solution Approach 1:
By continuously monitoring foot contact characteristics and providing real-time feedback on contact time and landing position, the system enables the runner to optimize the balance between stability and speed. The feedback allows for dynamic adjustment of contact time based on actual running conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system analyzes multiple parameters including foot contact time, landing position, and stride length to determine optimal running form. By changing these parameters dynamically based on detected overstriding conditions, the system helps the runner maintain both stability and speed.
3Productivity
If the runner lands the foot in front of the center of gravity to achieve longer stride, then the runner's productivity increases, but the runner experiences increased impact stress and injury risk
Solution Approach 1:
The accelerometers detect the position of foot strike relative to the body's center of gravity and provide immediate feedback. This allows the runner to adjust landing position to reduce impact stress while maintaining effective stride length, directly addressing the harmful effects of overstriding.
Solution Approach 2:
The system detects overstriding conditions and provides feedback before significant impact stress occurs. By prompting the runner to adjust their landing position in real-time, the system prevents excessive impact stress on the legs, knees, hips, and back.
4Measurement precision
If the runner uses multiple sensors on different portions of the foot to detect overstriding, then the measurement precision increases, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the foot into multiple sensing zones with accelerometers positioned at specific locations. This segmentation allows independent measurement of motion at different foot portions, improving detection accuracy while keeping each individual sensor simple and the overall system modular.
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
The system effectively identifies and reduces overstriding, enhancing running efficiency, reducing injury risk, and improving performance by providing immediate feedback on stride improvement.
Implementation Method 1
an accelerometer configured to measure an acceleration in a moving direction of a foot of a user during locomotion and output an acceleration signal responsive to the acceleration
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatuses for athletic performance monitoring are disclosed. In one example, a system includes an inertial sensor configured to measure an acceleration in a moving direction of a user foot of a user during locomotion and output an acceleration signal, a memory storing a stride acceleration motion profile, and a processing system configured to process the acceleration signal and the stride acceleration motion profile to identify a reduced user overstride.