Patent Application
20080122931
A person engaged in a physical activity may rely on visual clues to determine if the desired position or movement of a body part (or parts) or equipments such as a golf club, fishing rod, or tennis racket is achieved. In some cases the movement occurs outside of the person's field of view or requires the person to change the position or orientation of their head or eyes to observe the position or movement. This change of position or reorientation of the head or eyes can interfere with the ability to achieve the desired position or perform the desired movement.
Where direct visual observation is not possible the person performing the physical activity must rely on feedback from a coach or instructor to provide ongoing criticism of their performance in order to determine if their performance is improving. Alternatively, video imagery can be captured for later playback so that the person engaging in the activity can see for themselves if they are improving or to identify specific areas for later improvement. Various means have been implemented for feedback in the absence of a trained coach. These include the use of mirrors, various forms of analytical devices as described in US Patent Application:
20030024311 Perkins
and audio feedback devices such as described in Canadian Patent:
CA 210941 Dawson.
Mirrors provide immediate visual feedback but may not be readily available, may produce unsatisfactory imagery, or may require the person engaged in the activity to change the position or orientation required to properly perform the activity. Analytic devices may not provide real time feedback and audio devices may limit the information that can be presented to the person engaged in the sporting activity. In addition, there is often a need for the person performing the activity to “see for themselves” what they are doing in order to trust the information provided by analytical devices.
To date, one of the best forms of feedback for persons engaged in certain sporting activities is to review the performance of their activity recorded with a video camera. The person then reviews various aspects of their performance and then repeats the activity with desired changes. The person then reviews the newly recorded performance to verify that the desired change has been made. Performances captured via a video camera allow the person engaged in a sporting activity to perform the activity without the need to change the orientation of all or part of their body which can affect or impair the ability to perform the activity or movement. Video capture also allows viewing of the activity from various orientations. The drawback with this methodology is that the person engaged in the sporting activity can not observe themselves in real time. They must record a performance, review it, make adjustments mentally, then attempt to perform the activity with desired changes, and then repeat the cycle of performing/recording, reviewing, analyzing, repeating.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,881,067 B2, Tarry, describes a “Video Instructional System and Method For Teaching Motor Skills” using a video camera and a head mounted display which allows the person performing the physical activity to observe themselves performing the activity in real time without the need to change the position or orientation of their head or eyes.
The device described herein improves on the device described by U.S. Pat. No. 6,881,067 B2 for some situations by linking the video camera to the head mounted display with a wireless transmitter and receiver. This modification allows the device to be used in virtually any environment (e.g., on a golf course or a fishing pond) where electrical power may not be readily available and time to set up and tear down the equipment set up may be limited. In addition the person performing the physical activity is freed from encumbrances imposed by cabling required for audio or video transmission, electrical power or data communications. A further advantage of using wireless connectivity is that the person performing the physical activity can utilize remote control type devices to switch between multiple individual views of their performance.
Wireless connectivity also removes any restrictions on distance from the camera equipment. For example, sprinters, marathoners, or other runners can examine their stride while running either by a fixed camera or from cameras on moving platforms. Natural extension would enable the participants to view real-time feeds from alternative sources such as broadcast network television cameras during competitions.
The description herein makes reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:
a is a representation of the view that the person learning the activity in
Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
