US 6,876,496 · Granted 2005-04-05
The Patent That Taught Computers to Coach Athletes in Real Time
Imagine a video game that watches exactly how your body moves in 3D space and responds to you like a real opponent would. This patent describes sensors that track your position and a smart computer that creates custom challenges based on what you're doing, measuring your performance as you go.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The patent covers a system that combines motion-sensing hardware with sport-specific software to track a player's three-dimensional movements and respond with real-time interactive feedback. What's protected here is the combination of sensors that measure position changes in multiple degrees of freedom, plus the computer logic that generates a responsive virtual opponent that adapts to the player's actual movements and provides performance metrics.
Why it matters
This patent bridges biomechanics and interactive sports training by automating what a human coach does: observe, assess, and respond. By capturing real-time 3D motion data and coupling it with adaptive virtual opponents, the technology enables objective performance quantification without requiring a live coach present. This unlocks scalable, personalized athletic training for athletes who can't afford one-on-one coaching or don't have access to professional facilities.
Real-world use
A soccer player steps into a training space and faces a virtual goalkeeper that reacts to their actual body position and movement speed, adjusting shot angles in response to where the player is moving.
Original USPTO abstract
Accurate simulation of sport to quantify and train performance constructs by employing sensing electronics for determining, in essentially real time, the player's three dimensional positional changes in three or more degrees of freedom (three dimensions); and computer controlled sport specific cuing that evokes or prompts sport specific responses from the player that are measured to provide meaningful indicia of performance. The sport specific cuing is characterized as a virtual opponent that is responsive to, and interactive with, the player in real time. The virtual opponent continually delivers and/or responds to stimuli to create realistic movement challenges for the player.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 6,876,496
- Filing date
- 2004-07-09
- Grant date
- 2005-04-05
- Assignee
- Impulse Technology Ltd.
- Inventor(s)
- FRENCH BARRY J., FERGUSON KEVIN R.
- CPC class
- A63B24/0062
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