Systems and methods for monitoring athletic performance

Abstract

The invention relates to devices and methods for monitoring one or more athletic performance characteristic of a user. An example apparatus includes a sensing unit adapted to be attachable to a shoe of a user, the sensing unit including a first sensor adapted to monitor an movement of a foot of the user while the user is in motion, the first sensor comprising a gyroscopic sensor, processing means for determining a first performance characteristic of the user based upon an output from the first sensor, the first performance characteristic comprising a foot strike location of a foot of the user upon striking a ground surface, and transmitting means for transmitting a data package representative of the performance characteristic to a remote receiver.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 - 23 . (canceled) 
     
     
         24 . A system for monitoring at least one athletic performance characteristic of a user, the system comprising:
 at least one first sensing unit adapted to be at least one of releasably attachable to, fixedly attachable to, and embeddable in a shoe worn by the user during an athletic activity;   at least one second sensing unit adapted to be positionable on an upper body of the user; and   a processor in communication with each first sensing unit and each second sensing unit,   wherein the athletic performance characteristic comprises at least one of a posture and a body lean of the user during the athletic activity, and   wherein the processor is adapted to process data from each of the first sensing unit and the second sensing unit to evaluate the at least one athletic performance characteristic of the user.   
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 24  further comprising a transmitter for communicating data to the processor via a remote receiver. 
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 24 , wherein each second sensing unit is at least one of positionable on and removably affixed to at least one of a wrist, an arm, and a chest of the user. 
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 25 , wherein each second sensing unit is removably affixed to the user by at least one of an adhesive, a tape, a skin sensitive adhesive, and a skin sensitive tape. 
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 24 , wherein each second sensing unit is at least one of embeddable within, releasably attachable to, and removable placed into an item of apparel wearable by the user. 
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 24 , wherein each second sensing unit is mounted on a strap wearable by the user. 
     
     
         30 . The system of  claim 24 , wherein each of the first sensing unit and the second sensing unit is selected from the group consisting of: a mechanical feedback device, an accelerometer, a pressure sensor, a force sensor, a global positioning system, a piezoelectric sensor, a rotary position sensor, a gyroscopic sensor, a goniometer, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         31 . The system of  claim 24 , wherein the athletic performance characteristic further comprises at least one of a cadence and a foot strike of the user. 
     
     
         32 . The system of  claim 24 , wherein the first sensing unit is adapted to sense at least one of the cadence and the foot strike of the user and the second sensing unit is adapted to sense at least one of a posture and body lean information. 
     
     
         33 . A method for monitoring at least one athletic performance characteristic of a user during an athletic activity, the method comprising:
 sensing, by at least one first sensing unit adapted to be at least one of attachable to and embedded in a shoe worn by the user, at least one of location, movement, and placement of a foot of the user during the athletic activity;   sensing, by at least one second sensing unit adapted to be positionable on an upper body of the user, an attitude of the user during the athletic activity;   evaluating, using sensed information, each athletic performance characteristic; and   identifying, based on each evaluated athletic performance characteristic, at least one parameter that can be adjusted by the user during future athletic activity.   
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the attitude comprises at least one of a posture and a body lean of the user during the athletic activity, wherein identifying at least one parameter comprises:
 evaluating, by a processor receiving information from each of the first sensing unit and the second sensing unit, at least one of the posture and the body lean of the user.   
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein evaluating each athletic performance characteristic comprises determining whether the user's upper body carriage is up-right. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 35 , wherein the at least one identified parameter is selected from the group consisting of standing tall, running with the user's head up, and directing the user's gaze straight ahead. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein evaluating each athletic performance characteristic comprises determining a state of the user's body lean. 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 37 , wherein the at least one identified parameter comprises at least one of a forward lean over an entire length of the user's upper body and an angle of bend at the user's waist. 
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 38 , wherein the at least one identified parameter further comprises a flex at at least one of the user's ankles. 
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein at least one sensing step comprises transmitting sensed information to a processor for evaluation. 
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein transmitting comprises communicating sensed information to the processor via a remote receiver. 
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 33  further comprising communicating biofeedback information as to each evaluated athletic performance characteristic to the user. 
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 42 , wherein communicating biofeedback information comprises communicating with the user using at least one of an auditory, an optical, a haptic, and a tactile signal.