Interactive exercise apparatus for guiding physical exercises
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing interactive exercise apparatuses require complex and time-consuming database construction for various physical exercises, making it costly and inefficient to create guidance for each movement action.
Innovation Solution
An interactive exercise apparatus with a display device, detecting device, and control unit that uses video imagery to guide users through preset exercise programs, featuring instructor images, motion check images with guide tracks and evaluations, and a detecting device to track user movements, allowing for simple and fast setup of movement guiding information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a comprehensive database of exercise programs with detailed movement guidance is constructed, then the guiding capability and exercise variety are improved, but the complexity and time required for database construction and software development increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses motion capture technology to record real instructor demonstrations and creates digital templates that can be reused across multiple exercise programs. Instead of manually creating guidance for each exercise, the system copies and adapts proven movement patterns from captured demonstrations, dramatically reducing software development complexity while maintaining comprehensive guiding capability
Solution Approach 2:
The system develops a universal motion template framework that can serve multiple exercise programs simultaneously. A single captured movement pattern can be adapted for different exercises by modifying parameters such as speed, repetition count, and combination with other movements, eliminating the need to create separate guidance databases for each exercise type
2Manufacturing precision
If detailed guidance for each movement action is created manually, then the precision of exercise instruction is improved, but the time and cost required for database construction increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary motion capture and analysis during the database construction phase, automatically generating standardized movement templates that encode precise instructional data. This preliminary action of capturing and processing movements once creates reusable assets that maintain high instruction precision without requiring repeated manual guidance creation for each exercise program
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual video analysis and frame-by-frame measurement with automated computer vision algorithms and motion capture technology. These systems automatically extract kinematic parameters, joint angles, and movement trajectories, providing precise instructional data without the time-consuming manual annotation process
3Measurement precision
If multiple cameras and sensors are deployed to accurately track user movements, then the measurement precision of user posture is improved, but the hardware cost and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges multiple sensing modalities into an integrated measurement framework that combines data from depth cameras, 2D cameras, and inertial sensors. By fusing these different data sources through sensor fusion algorithms, the system achieves high posture detection accuracy using a moderate quantity of hardware, as each sensor type compensates for the limitations of others
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a virtual avatar as an intermediary representation that simplifies the mapping between physical sensors and body pose estimation. The avatar serves as a computational model that intermediate between raw sensor data and final posture measurements, enabling accurate tracking with reduced hardware requirements by leveraging computational geometry and constraint-based modeling
4Extent of automation
If real-time feedback and evaluation systems are implemented, then the interactivity and user engagement are improved, but the computational requirements and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements periodic feedback at strategically chosen moments during exercise execution rather than continuous feedback. Motion capture data is processed at key transition points and milestone achievements, providing timely guidance and evaluation without requiring constant computational processing, thus reducing energy consumption while maintaining high interactivity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial processing by focusing computational resources on evaluating only the most critical movement parameters and key body joints relevant to each specific exercise. Rather than analyzing every degree of freedom continuously, the system identifies and processes only the essential motion components needed for safe and effective exercise execution, reducing overall computational load
Data Source
AI summary
An interactive exercise apparatus for guiding a user to perform an exercise includes a display device and a detecting device. The display device is configured to display video imagery which shows an instructor image and at least one motion check image. The motion check image corresponds to a predetermined one of a plurality of body parts of the user, which has a motion guide track and a motion achievement evaluation. The detecting device is configured to detect displacement of the body parts. The motion guide track is displayed on a predetermined position of the video imagery with a predetermined track pattern, corresponding to a movement path of the predetermined body part when the user follows movements demonstrated by the instructor image to perform the exercise. The motion achievement evaluation indicates a matching degree determined according to the displacement of the predetermined body part detected by the detecting device.