System and method for conducting a remote athletic competition based on real-world conditions

Abstract

Systems and methods for remote participation in athletic competition are disclosed herein. Embodiments of the present invention can simulate the conditions of a real-world competition for the purposes of competing in the competition remotely. Participants' distance, time, speed, etc., can be tracked, stored, and compared with other participants to rank competitors and determine a winner. According to embodiments, the system is implemented using a smartphone, laptop, or the like that includes a camera and optionally a microphone to confirm participant identity and track/record the participants during the competition. The system can further include an electronic device that connects to a piece of athletic equipment, such as a treadmill, stationary bike, rowing equipment, etc. in two-way communication to send data (e.g., control instructions) to the athletic equipment, and to receive data from the athletic equipment.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for conducting a remote running competition, the system comprising:
 an electronically controllable treadmill comprising a running surface operable to move via a force of a remote race participant produced by running on the running surface;   an electronic control device coupled to the treadmill; and   a smartphone comprising a camera, wherein the electronic control device and the smartphone communicate with a remote server over a computer network, wherein the smartphone is operable to capture video data to confirm an identity of the participant, and wherein the remote server provides data to the electronic control device for controlling settings of the electronically controllable treadmill to substantially reproduce a real-world competitive running event in real-time for remote participation by the remote race participant.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the remote server is operable to calculate a difficulty level of the real-world competition, and wherein the remote server provides the difficulty level to the electronic control device to control a setting of the electronically controllable treadmill. 
     
     
         3 . The system of claim  3 , wherein the difficult level is based on an air density value calculated using the formula: ρ=P/(R*T), where ρ is the air density value (in kg/m 3 ), P is an atmospheric pressure (in Pascals), R is a universal gas constant (about 8.314 J/(mol K)), and T is an air temperature (in Kelvin). 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the remote server calculates a resistance value corresponding to conditions of the real-world competition, and wherein the remote server provides the resistance value to the electronic control device to control a setting of the electronically controllable treadmill. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the resistance value is calculated by the remote server according to the formula: F=0.5*ρ*C*A*ν 2 , where F is the resistance value (in Newtons), ρ is an air density (in kg/m 3 ), C is a coating resistance coefficient, A is a cross-sectional area of the remote race participant (in m 2 ), and ν is a speed of the remote race participant (in m/s). 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the remote server calculates an incline value corresponding to conditions of the real-world competition, and wherein the remote server provides the incline value to the electronic control device to control a setting of the electronically controllable treadmill. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic control device further comprises a sensor, wherein the sensor is operable to take a measurement comprising at least one of:
 temperature; humidity; and air density, and wherein the measurement is provided to the remote server and used to calculate a difficulty level of the remote race participant.   
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic control device and the electronically controllable treadmill are connected using USB. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic control device and the electronically controllable treadmill are connected using Bluetooth. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the remote server is operable to store event timing data, remote race participant information, and real-world race condition data. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the remote server is operable to provide real-world race condition data to the electronic control device for controlling at least one: of a resistance value; and an incline value of the electronically controllable treadmill in real-time. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic control device and the smartphone are operable to upload remote race data to the remote server, wherein the remote race data comprises a race completion time indicating when the remote race participant completes the remote running competition. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the speed of the remote participant is calculated using the formula V=sqrt((2*F)/(m*C d *ρ*A)), where V is the speed of the runner (in m/s), F is the force required to overcome the resistance (in Newtons), m is the mass of the runner (in kg), C d  is the drag coefficient, ρ is the air density (in kg/m 3 ), and A is the cross-sectional area of the runner (in m 2 ). 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the control device is operable to control a motor of the electronically controllable treadmill to adjust at least one of: a resistance of the running surface; and an incline of the running surface. 
     
     
         15 . A method of conducting a remote athletic competition in real-time based on a real-world athletic competition, the method comprising:
 verifying an identity of a remote participant using a camera of a smartphone;   recording a start time of the remote athletic competition, wherein the start time of the remote athletic competition is substantially equal to a start time of the real-world athletic competition;   accessing real-world athletic competition data; and   controlling a piece of controllable athletic equipment to reproduce a difficulty level experienced by participants of the real-world athletic competition for the remote participant.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the real-world competition data comprises at least one of: temperature data; track contour information; humidity data; precipitation data; and air density data. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the controlling a piece of controllable athletic equipment is performed by an electronic control device coupled to the controllable athletic equipment, wherein the controllable athletic equipment comprises a treadmill, and wherein the controlling a piece of controllable athletic equipment comprises adjusting a resistance or incline setting of the controllable athletic equipment. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising displaying video on a display device of the controllable athletic equipment, wherein the video comprises images of a real-world location corresponding to a location of the remote participant in the remote athletic competition. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 calculating a speed of the remote participant using the formula V=sqrt(( 2 *F)/(m*C d *ρ*A)), where V is the speed of the runner (in m/s), F is the force required to overcome the resistance (in Newtons), m is the mass of the runner (in kg), C d  is the drag coefficient, ρ is the air density (in kg/m 3 ), and A is the cross-sectional area of the runner (in m 2 ); and   calculating a distance traveled by the remote participant using the calculated speed and a time duration, wherein the remote participant finishes the remote competition when the distance traveled reaches a predetermined value.   
     
     
         20 . A method of controlling athletic equipment to simulate conditions of a real-world athletic competition, the method comprising: accessing race conditions of the real-world athletic competition in real-time, wherein the race conditions comprise track environmental conditions and track contour information;
 calculating a real-time estimated difficulty level of the real-world athletic competition using the race conditions;   accessing participant data comprising a participant body mass;   calculating a resistance value for configuration of the athletic equipment based on the difficulty level and the participant body mass; and   sending control signals to the athletic equipment to adjust the resistance force produced by a motor of the athletic equipment based on the calculated resistance value.