WO2010001318A1

WO2010001318A1 - A human activity monitoring system with tag detecting means

Info

Publication number: WO2010001318A1
Application number: PCT/IB2009/052764
Authority: WO
Inventors: Henricus A. G. Van Vugt
Original assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
Priority date: 2008-07-03
Filing date: 2009-06-26
Publication date: 2010-01-07

Abstract

This invention relates to a human activity monitoring system. A human activity monitor that is carried by a user collects body activity data of the user. RFID tags provide activity related data. The human activity monitor further includes a communication means for communicating with the tag means and for associating the activity related data to the body activity data.

Description

A human activity monitoring system with tag detecting means

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a human activity monitoring system, a method of human activity monitoring, a computer program product for instructing a processing unit to execute such a method and a human activity monitoring kit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the recent year, various products have been developed aiming at improving people's lifestyle and direct them towards a healthier lifestyle. Many of these products are based on behavioral change programs which assist people in moving more, eating healthier, etc.

An example of such product is one which focuses on activity, and incorporates a small and unobtrusive human activity monitor. While carrying it around, it continuously monitors a person's activity level. Feedback is given directly on the device itself (e.g. activity score versus personal activity target). When connected to a PC with appropriate software installed, the collected activity data is uploaded to a central website. On the website the user can look at his or her activity data in detail. There it is also possible to look at one's personal plan, get health-related tips, share achievements with others (community aspect), etc.

However, it is very difficult to do accurate energy expenditure calculations (amount of Kcalories burnt) using the devices currently on the market, based just on collected activity data plus limited data entered by the user (like sex, age and weight). Given a certain algorithm, it turns out that both wearing position (e.g. around the waist or around the neck) and the actual activity being performed (walking, running, cycling, driving by car, etc.) have a big influence on the accuracy of the outcome.

Wearing position can be taken into account relatively easy by letting people indicate where they wear the device. Typically the wearing location doesn't change very often. It's far more difficult to compensate for different kinds of activity. A well known problem example is that the results for cycling are typically (far) too low. This occurs when wearing the activity monitor around the waist, which is hardly moving when compared to the legs. Although fully understandable that cycling is rated too low, it damages the credibility of the overall solution.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to overcome the above mentioned drawbacks by providing a simple way of monitoring human activity

According to one aspect the present invention relates to a human activity monitoring system comprising: a human activity monitor adapted to be carried by a user for collecting body activity data of the user, and tag means adapted to provide activity related data, wherein human activity monitor further includes a communication means for communicating with the tag means and for associating the activity related data to the body activity data. Thus, by associating the activity related data with the body activity data additional information are provided indicating the type of activity or indicating additional details regarding the tag means such as where the tag means is located. The result of this is that a more accurate way is provided for e.g. calculating the amount of Kcalories burnt. As an example, the activity related data may indicate that the activity is cycling and the body activity data is the activity data gathered during the cycled distance. Thus, the calculations being done may be based on the collected body activity data for the activity "cycling". As previously addressed, the amount of calories burnt depends upon the activity that is being performed. The activity "walking" is of a completely different nature than the activity "cycling". Another example is where a user goes to the fitness studio to play badminton. A tag means is provided and programmed to transmit a unique ID that is linked to the activity badminton. Before starting the exercise, the user places his human activity monitor within the communication range of the tag means which reads the activity related data indicating that the activity is badminton. Thus, all the collected data relate to the activity "badminton". Also, it is well possible to have two or more activity related data associated to the body activity data, e.g. the activity related data could indicate the type of activity and also where the activity took place. Another example of implementation of the system is lap counting (each time a user passes the tag means one lap is counted), time estimation (e.g. the time it took to run the lap, assuming that the human activity monitor is provided with a clock), speed estimation over a certain distance (i.e. distance divided with the time, e.g. the distance of one lap divided with the time it took to run the lap). Advantageously the human activity is stimulated by making use of this system fun, thus encouraging people to move more, and keeping them in that state.

In one embodiment, the tag means is one or more Radio -frequency identification (RFID) tags.

Such RFID tags are typically passive ones, meaning that they have no power consumption source of their own and get their energy from an externally applied energy field, and use that energy for sending back identification data, plus they are small and cheap and customizable. In one embodiment, the human activity monitor further comprises: a processor for reading the unique IDs of the one or more RFID tags uniquely identifying the tags and linking them to the body activity data along with a time indicator indicating the time of reading the unique IDs, and a memory for storing the unique IDs and the body activity data, wherein associating the activity related data to the body activity data is performed via the unique IDs.

Accordingly, prior to associating the "real activity related data" to the body activity data a "link" is provided to the activity related data meaning that e.g. "IDl" for RFID tagl may give the exact location of this particular RFID tagl, "ID2" for RFID tag 2 may give an exact location for the RFID tag 2, etc. The advantage of this is that, the tags may be "dummies" which only transmit their IDs and nothing else. Thus, instead of collecting directly the activity related data (e.g. the type of activity or the location related data of the RFID tags) the data being collected are the IDs which are then linked to the body activity data. This may then be stored at the human activity monitor. Later on, the user may via his/her computer upload the data (wired or wirelessly depending on the type of the human activity monitor) and enter an appropriate web site where the IDs are linked to e.g. the locations of the tags. Thus, the meaning of the different tags may be specified in a database. This can as an example mean that the exact location of the tags has been given and/or the activity the tags stand for. This information may then be stored in the database on the server. While actually using the activity monitor, the activity monitor merely detects tags and stores these events in as an example a non- volatile memory (with a clear timing relation with the body activity data). Once the data is uploaded to the website, the website has knowledge about a) what tags have been detected and b) the meaning of these tags. In one embodiment, the human activity monitor is integrated into a portable computer device comprising storage means for storing the body activity data of the user along with the unique IDs.

The computer device could e.g. be a mobile phone, PDA and the like which is provided with a storage means for storing the collected data.

In one embodiment, the communication means for communicating with the tag means is a near field communication (NFC) setup. This is a simple solution for communicating RFID tags.

In one embodiment, the human activity monitor further comprises a user feedback means adapted to communicate to the user when a tag means has been detected.

Thus, a user friendly way is provided to indicate to the user when a tag is detected.

According to another aspect, the present invention relates to a method of activity monitoring comprising: collecting body activity data of a user using a human activity monitor, and providing activity related data using one or more tag means, wherein the method further includes communicating with the tag means and associating the activity related data to the body activity data.

In one embodiment, the one or more tag means are multiple tag means arranged along a pre-defined path and where the activity related data are data indicating the geographic location of each of the one or more tag means.

Also, this provides an economical solution since the activity related data may indicate the precise geographical position of the tag means, e.g. along a given pathway the activity related data may include data indicating the position of the tag means (e.g. the tags are arranged with 100m distances). Thus, a very economical solution is provide since now it is no longer required to use a GPS setup in the tags or the human activity monitor.

In one embodiment, the activity related data are data indicating the type of one or more different activities.

As mentioned previously, the may e.g. indicate that the activity is "cycling". Thus, a cyclist places his human activity monitor within the communication range of the tag means before cycling. By doing so, the human activity monitor "knows" that the activity is cycling. All calculations can therefore be based on this particular activity. Another example is a jogger which has attached tag means to his shoes. In this case, the human activity monitor the activity related data would be for the activity "running". Thus, all calculations (Kcalories burnt) is based on the activity "running". In both examples the activity might be considered ended when the same tag is detected a second time (alternative being an algorithm of some sort, that tries to detect the end of the activity by investigating the body activity data). In one embodiment, prior to associating the activity related data to the body activity data, the method further comprises the step of: reading the unique IDs of the one or more tag means uniquely identifying the tags and linking them to the body activity data along with a time indicator indicating the time of reading the unique IDs, storing the unique IDs and the body activity data, and associating the activity related data to the body activity data via the unique IDs.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises generating a look up table linking the unique IDs of the tag means to their geographic locations, or to a specific activity, or both, wherein the step of associating the activity related data to the body activity data comprises: uploading the stored body activity data along with a time indicator indicating the time of reading the unique IDs and the unique IDs of the tags, extracting the data relating to the geographic locations of the tag means, or the type of a specific activity, or both, in accordance to the look-up table.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises using the data related to the geographic locations, or the type of activity, or both, as input in determining the total distance being traveled, or the amount of calories burnt, or bonus points, or a combination of one or more of the above.

Thus, as mentioned previously, a precise distance value can be determined for a user walking along the pre-defined path and thus, it is no longer required to use a GPS setup in the tags or the human activity monitor. Instead, the geographic locations of the tag means are known. The step of associating the activity related data to the body activity data may e.g. be performed by establishing on a central server a connection between the unique

IDs of the tags, where the server has stored therein the look-up table linking the unique IDs to the activity data. The website can use this for e.g. better energy expenditure calculations, visualization, customize tips, and the pathway the user has walked may e.g. be displayed on the computer along with highly accurate amount of Kcalories burnt, a precise information about the distance the user walked or might have walked. This of course requires manually entering (e.g. by an organizer of a specific tour, e.g. up a certain mountain) of the activity, the height of the various RFID tags etc. Another example of implementation of the method is where the tag means are used for exercises by e.g. coaches, or where the tag means are placed inside building to distinguish between taking the stairs and taking the elevator. This could also be implemented in the framework of calculating bonus points, e.g. more points if user takes the stairs instead of the elevator, or the higher the user as climbed up a mountain the more points he gets.

According to another aspect, the present invention relates to a computer program product for instructing a processing unit to execute the above mentioned method steps when the product is run on a computer.

The aspects of the present invention may each be combined with any of the other aspects. These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will be described, by way of example only, with reference to the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a human activity monitoring system according to the present invention,

Fig. 2-10 depicts various scenarios of implementing a one scenario of using the human activity monitoring system according to the present invention, and Fig. 11 shows a method of activity monitoring.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Fig.l shows a human activity monitoring system 100 according to the present invention comprising a human activity monitor 102 and tag means 101. The human activity monitor 102 is adapted to be carried by a user 103 for collecting body activity data of the user. The human activity monitor may e.g. contain an accelerometer and the collected data may be acceleration and/or gravity induced reaction forces, or it might contain earth magnetic field sensor(s), gyroscopic sensor(s), air pressure sensor(s), heart rate measurement, skin conductivity measurement, etc. and the like. The human activity monitor may be integrated into hand held computer device such as a PDA, ThinkPad, mobile Phone such as NFC enabled mobile phones (> 50% in 2010 expected) are able to read such tag means. The activities may e.g. be walking, running, cycling, mountaineering, driving, kayak paddling, volleyball, table tennis, etc.

The tag means 101 is adapted to provide activity related data 104 which indicate the type of activity being performed, i.e. whether it is tennis, running, cycling, driving etc. In one embodiment, the tag means is one or more Radio -frequency identification (RFID) tags. As will be discussed in more details later, this may be done indirectly by means of its unique ID.

The human activity monitor 102 further includes a communication means (C M) 105 for communicating with the tag means and for associating the activity related data to the body activity data. In one embodiment, the communication means is a near field communication (NFC) setup. NFC is an evolution of a technique called RFID (Radio Frequency IDentifϊcation), known mainly from product identification by means of small and cheap RFID tags. NFC is downwards compatible with RFID at 13.56 MHz. This means that these tags can be read by devices that incorporate NFC communication (when within a 10-20 cm range).

In one embodiment, the human activity monitor 102 further comprises a processor (P) 107 and a memory 106. The processor is adapted to read the unique IDs (or the activity related data directly) of the one or more RFID tags uniquely identifying the tags and linking them to the body activity data 1 lOalong with a time indicator or a time stamp indicating the time of reading the unique IDs. Such a time indicator could e.g. be based on that the body activity data along with the activity related data are stored sequentially such that when the IDs is received it is associated to the body activity data at the correct place. This is particularly the scenario when a user 103 is walking along a pre-defined path which has multiple of RFID tags along the road. Thus, the time indicator, i.e. when the IDs are read and stored is a relevant parameter.

In one embodiment, the human activity monitor 102 further comprises a user feedback means (F M) 112 adapted to communicate to the user 103 when a tag means has been detected. The user feedback means (F M) 112 could be a device that emits sound or a voice, or via a display provided on the human activity monitor 102. The role of the memory 106 is to store the unique IDs 104 and the body activity data. Since the different IDs have been associated (linked) to the body activity data a direct link is provided between the body activity data and the activity related data 110. This link may in one embodiment be in a form of a look-up table 111 which links the unique IDs of the tag means 104 to e.g. their geographic locations, or to the type of a specific activity, or both. Thus, an external database 111 is generated and stored at a central serverlO5 by e.g. an organizer of a specific tour where tags are placed along existing trails (walking, cycling, etc.). Thus, each tag is uniquely identified via its ID and a precise coordinate position. This is depicted graphically in Fig. 3 showing a trail which multiple tag means (RFID tags as an example). In the look-up table 111, each tag is associated with a precise coordinate position. Thus, in this embodiment, the data being stored in the human activity monitor are the body activity data and various IDs of the tags along with a time indicator showing when the IDs where read and stored at the storage means 106. After completing the walk, the "real activity related data" may be associated to the body activity data by uploading the stored body activity data along with a time indicator indicating the time of reading the unique IDs and the unique IDs of the tags. This may be something that the user 103 might do at his personal home computer 108 or directly from his mobile computer device. Thus, by uploading the data from the storage means 106 of the human activity monitor 102 and establishing a connection to the server 105 and the look-up table 111 via a communication link 109 (e.g. the Internet) the data 110 associated to the tag IDs is extracted, e.g. the precise geographic locations of the tag means. Other data by be linked to the tag IDs, such as the type of one or more different activities, or bonus points (e.g. because the tag is located at a very difficult spot). The bonus points may be stored in the server database for allowing more flexibility. Having extracted the activity related data, the type of activity (e.g. "walking") and/or the travelled distance (since the IDs are linked to an accurate location), the time it took to walk the distance (due to the time stamp) etc are obtained and may be used as input in calculating precisely how many calories the user 103 had burnt. A graphical display might display to the user graphical feedback on geographic maps, e.g. using Google Earth showing the path the user 103 walked, how many bonus points the user earned because he walked e.g. an extra difficult path etc. Also, customized tips may be generated, people may be brought into contact with each other, form groups, etc.

Fig. 2-10 depicts various scenarios of implementing a one scenario of using the human activity monitoring system 100 according to the present invention. Figure 2 depicts that scenario where tag means, 101 e.g. RFID tag has been placed inside a building to determine whether the user 103 has taken the stairwell or the elevator. One example of an implementation of the human activity monitoring system 100 is to give the user 103 bonus points if he takes the stairs. This could e.g. be a part of a training set up by a coach. Fig. 3 depicts, as discussed previously, the scenario where multiple tags 101 have been placed along an existing trail (walking path) where each time the user 103 passes the tags he places the human activity monitor 102 within a communication range of the tag and collects activity related data, e.g. by initially storing the tags IDs. Later on when the user uploads the data, he has a precise information about how long the walking distance was, the type of activity (the tags may be setup for the activity walking), how much calories the user burnt etc. Figure 4 depicts a similar scenario as the user, but here multiple tags 101 have been placed along a river route. Fig. 5 depicts the scenario where a tag 101 has been attached to a tennis racket. Thus, the user might have the human activity monitor 102 in his pocket. Before starting the tennis game/training, the user places his human activity monitor 102 within the communication range of the tag to "mark" that the body activity data relate to the activity tennis. Fig. 6 depicts the scenario where a tag 101 has been placed at various places in a city, where each tag indicates exact coordinates, a zip code or streets etc. Figure 7 depicts the scenario where a tag 101 has been attached to a bicycle, thus before the user 103 starts cycling, he places his human activity monitor 102 within the communication range of the tag and thus "marks" that the activity is cycling. Figs. 8-10 depict further examples of implementation of the human activity monitoring system 100, where the tags have been attached to a badminton net (Fig. 8), to running shoes (Fig. 9) and to a car (Fig. 10), for indicating that the activities are badminton, running and driving, respectively. Fig 11 shows a flowchart of a method of activity monitoring. In step (Sl) 1101, body activity data of a user are collected using a human activity monitor.

In step (S2) 1103, activity related data are provided using one or more tag means.

In step (S3) 1105, the human activity monitor communicates with the tag means and associates the activity related data to the body activity data. In one embodiment, the one or more tag means are multiple tag means arranged along a pre-defined path and where the activity related data are data indicating the geographic location of each of the one or more tag means.

In one embodiment, the activity related data are data indicating the type of one or more different activities, e.g. running, cycling, driving, etc. In step (S4) 1107, the method further comprises reading the unique IDs of the one or more tag means uniquely identifying the tags and linking them to the body activity data along with a time indicator indicating the time of reading the unique IDs, storing the unique IDs and the body activity data (S5) 1109, and associating the activity related data to the body activity data via the unique IDs (S6) 1111. In one embodiment, a look-up table is generated for linking the unique IDs of the tag means to their geographic locations, or to the type of one or more different activities, or both. Thus, the step of associating the activity related data to the body activity data comprises uploading the stored body activity data along with a time indicator indicating the time of reading the unique IDs and the unique IDs of the tags, and extracting the data relating to the geographic locations of the tag means, or the type of one or more different activities, or both, in accordance to the look-up table.

In a typical scenario, each user may be provided with a couple of such tag means together with the human activity monitor, where the tags may be clearly numbered. If more tags are needed, they may simply be ordered e.g. via a web site, where the user can by himself mark them such that they represent a certain activity (this may of course also be done by the manufacturer of the tag means), or mark them such that they represent a certain geographic location (coordinates, address, location in Google Earth, etc.). Combinations are possible (e.g. volleyball in a specific sports facility, or climbing at a specific location in the mountains).

In one embodiment, the users may 'publish' their tag locations on an appropriate website, so others can use them to achieve a certain distance / activity score.

Further example of implementation of the method is geo-caching (see www.geocaching.com), placing the tags along existing trails (walking, cycling, etc.), or for implementing exercises (e.g. local coach puts out a couple of new tags and can track if trainees have been there, coach could even ask trainees to set out routes). Also, the tags may have different amount of 'points' (more if higher up the mountain, further away from the city, etc.) which could provide a nice framework for bonuses and be coupled to one or more of the following: Amount of (unique) tags detected

Accumulated value (points) of tags detected

Accumulated distance over time

Detection of specific tags (e.g. near stairs in office buildings)

Detection of specific tag/activity monitor combinations. An example of bonus without website involvement is that after 'collecting' all tags along a certain trail, users get one ice-cream for free at the nearby cafe/restaurant (PC in cafe/restaurant can read-out the collected tags). An example of bonus with website involvement includes price award for specific tag/activity monitor combination (will stimulate even more to participate). Further implementations Lap counting / time estimation / speed estimation over a certain distance e.g. pool, parcours, track for swimmers, Nordic walkers, runners etc.

As discussed previously, the human activity monitor may be provided with features allowing the activity monitor to e.g. give visual feedback when it has detected a valid tag with a nice animation as an example, or detecting the same tag for a second time could mean end of the activity (confirmed by different animation).

In one embodiment, the user may enter a tag means number on a website by holding the tag means near a docked activity monitor, where a PC application invokes pop-up on website to enter activity and/or geographic location. The geographic location may be entered by means of Google Earth (browser plug-in). The meaning of the tag means (type of activity, location etc) may be stored on the website server, not in the tag itself (tag is readonly and only needs to contain unique ID, though it will probably also contain website URL). Thus, as discussed previously, the meaning is linked to the ID number of the tag means.

In one embodiment, organizations/companies that organize different tours may be allowed to set-up their own routes, e.g. 'this month you can walk the X-Y route'. The system 100 might be for registration purposes during sports events, i.e. keep track of whether or not participants did whole parcours and how often. One scenario of possible implementation is where the tags are located at places of interest and people can start 'collecting' them and thus be able to show others where they've been. Certain specific details of the disclosed embodiment are set forth for purposes of explanation rather than limitation, so as to provide a clear and thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it should be understood by those skilled in this art, that the present invention might be practiced in other embodiments that do not conform exactly to the details set forth herein, without departing significantly from the scope of this disclosure. Further, in this context, and for the purposes of brevity and clarity, detailed descriptions of well-known apparatuses, circuits and methodologies have been omitted so as to avoid unnecessary detail and possible confusion.

Reference signs are included in the claims, however the inclusion of the reference signs is only for clarity reasons and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A human activity monitoring system (100) comprising: a human activity monitor (102) adapted to be carried by a user for collecting body activity data of the user, and tag means (101) adapted to provide activity related data, wherein human activity monitor (102) further includes a communication means (105) for communicating with the tag means (101) and for associating the activity related data to the body activity data.

2. A human activity monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the tag means (101) is one or more Radio -frequency identification (RFID) tags.

3. A human activity monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein the human activity monitor further comprises: a processor (107) for reading the unique IDs (104) of the one or more RFID tags uniquely identifying the tags and linking them to the body activity data along with a time indicator indicating the time of reading the unique IDs, and a memory (106) for storing the unique IDs (104) and the body activity data, wherein associating the activity related data to the body activity data is performed via the unique IDs.

4. A human activity monitoring system according to claim 3, wherein the human activity monitor (102) is integrated into a portable computer device comprising storage means (106) for storing the body activity data of the user along with the unique IDs.

5. A human activity monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the communication means (105) for communicating with the tag means (101) is a near field communication (NFC) setup.

6. A human activity monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the human activity monitor further comprises a user feedback means (112) adapted to communicate to the user when a tag means (101) has been detected.

7. A method of activity monitoring comprising: collecting body activity data of a user using a human activity monitor (1101), and providing activity related data using one or more tag means (1103), wherein the method further includes communicating with the tag means and associating the activity related data to the body activity data (1105).

8. A method according to claim 7, wherein the one or more tag means are multiple tag means arranged along a pre-defined path and where the activity related data are data indicating the geographic location of each of the one or more tag means.

9. A method according to claim 7, wherein the activity related data are data indicating the type of one or more different activities.

10. A method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein prior to associating the activity related data to the body activity data, the method further comprises the step of: reading the unique IDs of the one or more tag means uniquely identifying the tags and linking them to the body activity data along with a time indicator indicating the time of reading the unique IDs (1107), storing the unique IDs and the body activity data (1109), and associating the activity related data to the body activity data via the unique IDs

(1111).

11. A method according to claim 10, further comprising generating a look up table linking the unique IDs of the tag means to their geographic locations, or to a specific activity, or both, wherein the step of associating the activity related data to the body activity data comprises: uploading the stored body activity data along with a time indicator indicating the time of reading the unique IDs and the unique IDs of the tags, extracting the data relating to the geographic locations of the tag means, or the type of a specific activity, or both, in accordance to the look-up table.

12. A method according to claim 7, further comprising using the data related to the geographic locations, or the type of activity, or both, as input in determining the total distance being traveled, or the amount of calories burnt, or bonus points, or a combination of one or more of the above

13. A computer program product for instructing a processing unit to execute the method step of claim 8 when the product is run on a computer.

14. A human activity monitoring kit comprising one or more tag means (101) adapted to provide activity related data and a human activity monitor (102) adapted to be carried by a user (103) comprising a communication means (105) for communicating with the tag means (101) and for associating the activity related data to the body activity data.