Apple continues a march into sports monitoring devices with a few newly granted patents. One of the patents would require a TV system to advance the concepts of movement and event
monitoring systems in a very entertaining way. Apple TV
definitely needs a killer app of its very own to catapult this hobby device into
being a contender for the all important in-home market segment. Another
patent reveals an advanced heart rate monitor system and Apple just might be considering a Nike+iPod-like equivalent program for
skiers, snowboarders and related sports.
Sophisticated Heart Rate Monitor
One of the key applications of this patent is that of a heart rate monitor strip. The wireless strip worn by the patient could notify medical staff that the patient is going into cardiac arrest.
This provides an alternative to “strap” heart rate monitors [such as a Polar] to monitor the heart in real time. Data would be captured by a receiver such as a watch to display the data to the wearing user. The device could also be used for various other scenarios within a hospital environment such as monitoring a patient’s activity and to notify the appropriate personnel if a patient has fallen. It could also be set to monitor stress, pulse, respiratory rates etc.
Sporting Event Sensor Monitoring
Apple was granted a patent for advanced Movement Monitoring Devices. The data from these monitors are streamed to a remote reconstruction computer and receiver. The Movement Monitoring Device strips are placed on athletes at appropriate locations, for example, on each foot and hand, head, knee, and chest.
Apple TV
Now this is where it could get very interesting in respect to monitoring sporting data for a future Apple TV application. Watching a fighting match is going to be taken to the next level and be a lot more interesting and engaging for the viewer. Furthermore, that data could be simultaneously relayed to the Internet or television to display impact speed and intensity of blows given or received in real time.
The fighter fan will be able to analyze such things as impacts per minute; average strike force per boxer; average punch power received to the head; average body blow power; and peak striking impact. Rotational information may also be derived with the appropriate detector, including typical wrist rotation at impact, a movement metric that may be determined with a spin sensor. The patent states that data would be displayed in an easy to understand format, such as through bar graphs or other means. However, I’m sure Apple will amaze us with their trademark elegant and simple user interface.
The interesting part is that it’s just one sporting event example. You’ll have to use your imagination a bit here to realize that the monitoring systems will apply to a number of other sporting events well beyond fighting based contact sports. Think of football, downhill ski racing, extreme snowboarding, extreme dirt bike racing, baseball, soccer, hockey, wrestling, sports car racing, even surfing contests. I would gladly volunteer to test any surfing apps.
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