Systems and Methods for Interfacing Exercise Equipment Sensors with Software Applications

Abstract

The present invention discloses systems and methods for interfacing exercise equipment sensors, like cadence and speed sensors, with software applications, such as video games and interactive software, without requiring any modification to the software applications. Central to the invention is an Interface System, comprising modules for sensor communication and data acquisition, data analysis, and compatible input generation such as input event simulation, including key press and key release, and Human Interface Device (HID) input generation. The innovation addresses the challenge of incompatible sensor data by generating compatible input for the software applications. The methods involve reading sensor data, storing it for analysis, recognizing user behavior, and determining and generating compatible input that interact with the software applications.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for interfacing exercise equipment sensors with software applications, the system comprising:
 an exercise equipment comprising at least one of:
 a cadence sensor; or 
 a speed sensor; and 
   a computing device comprising:
 a software application running on an operating system; and 
 an interface system comprising:
 a module configured to facilitate the discovery and identification of exercise equipment sensors and to establish real-time communication with the sensors to receive real-time sensor data; 
 a module configured to analyze the sensor data and transform the sensor data into required information; and 
 a module configured to generate simulated input events, including key press and key release, based on the analysis of the sensor data and to send the simulated input events to the software application via the operating system, enabling interaction with the software application. 
 
   
     
     
         2 . A computer-implemented method for interfacing exercise equipment sensors with software applications, the method comprising:
 Reading sensor data from one or more sensors, wherein the sensor data comprises real-time metrics, including cadence and speed;   Storing the sensor data for future reference, enabling the creation of a historical record;   Analyzing the sensor data, the analysis comprising:
 Examining real-time sensor data and stored historical data; and 
 Recognizing user behaviour including variations in speed and cadence; 
   Determining simulated input events based on the recognized user behaviour;   Generating simulated input events, including key press and key release, based on the determination and sending the simulated input events to a software application via an operating system; and   Repeating the steps of reading, storing, analyzing, determining, and generating and sending, thereby providing an ongoing interaction with the software application.   
     
     
         3 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method for interfacing exercise equipment sensors with software applications, the method comprising:
 Reading sensor data from one or more sensors, wherein the sensor data comprises real-time metrics, including cadence and speed;   Storing the sensor data for future reference, enabling the creation of a historical record;   Analyzing the sensor data, the analysis comprising:
 Examining real-time sensor data and stored historical data; and 
 Recognizing user behaviour including variations in speed and cadence; 
   Determining simulated input events based on the recognized user behaviour;   Generating simulated input events, including key press and key release, based on the determination and sending the simulated input events to a software application via an operating system; and   Repeating the steps of reading, storing, analyzing, determining, and generating and sending, thereby providing an ongoing interaction with the software application.   
     
     
         4 . A system for interfacing exercise equipment sensors with software applications, the system comprising:
 an exercise equipment comprising at least one of:
 a cadence sensor; or 
 a speed sensor; 
   a computing device comprising a software application running on an operating system; and   a computing device comprising an interface system, the interface system comprising:
 a module configured to facilitate the discovery and identification of exercise equipment sensors and to establish real-time communication with the sensors to receive real-time sensor data; 
 a module configured to analyze the sensor data and transform the sensor data into required information; and 
 a module configured to generate Human Interface Device (HID) input based on the data analysis of the sensor data and to send the HID input to the software application, enabling interaction with the software application. 
   
     
     
         5 . A computer-implemented method for interfacing exercise equipment sensors with software applications, the method comprising:
 Establishing a connection with a software application as a Human Interface Device (HID) using a communication standard;   Reading sensor data from one or more sensors, wherein the sensor data comprises real-time metrics, including cadence and speed;   Storing the sensor data for future reference, enabling the creation of a historical record;   Analyzing the sensor data, the analysis comprising:
 Examining real-time sensor data and stored historical data; and 
 Recognizing user behaviour including variations in speed and cadence; 
   Determining HID input based on the recognized user behaviour;   Generating HID input based on the determination and sending the HID input to the software application; and   Repeating the steps of reading, storing, analyzing, determining, and generating and sending, thereby providing an ongoing interaction with the software application.   
     
     
         6 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method for interfacing exercise equipment sensors with software applications, the method comprising:
 Establishing a connection with a software application as a Human Interface Device (HID) using a communication standard;   Reading sensor data from one or more sensors, wherein the sensor data comprises real-time metrics, including cadence and speed;   Storing the sensor data for future reference, enabling the creation of a historical record;   Analyzing the sensor data, the analysis comprising:
 Examining real-time sensor data and stored historical data; and 
 Recognizing user behaviour including variations in speed and cadence; 
   Determining HID input based on the recognized user behaviour;   Generating HID input based on the determination and sending the HID input to the software application; and   Repeating the steps of reading, storing, analyzing, determining, and generating and sending, thereby providing an ongoing interaction with the software application.