Swimming instruction system with optical projector

Abstract

A swimming instruction system including a buoyant kickboard, an optical projector disposed on the buoyant kickboard to project user-readable information onto the buoyant kickboard, a limb piece comprising a limb sensor, and a controller to receive sensor data from the wrist piece and/or the ankle piece and transmit user-readable information to the optical projector. The swimming instruction system analyzes sensor data from limb sensors to detect a limb motion, compare a detected limb motion with a predicted limb motion, generate a user advice, transmit to the optical projector user-readable information including the user advice, and display the user advice using the optical projector. The swimming instruction system is used in a method of teaching a user to swim.

1 . A swimming instruction system, comprising
 a buoyant kickboard;   an optical projector disposed on the buoyant kickboard configured to project user-readable information onto the buoyant kickboard;   a limb piece comprising a limb sensor; and   a controller configured to receive sensor data from the limb sensor and transmit user-readable information to the optical projector.   
     
     
         2 . The swimming instruction system of  claim 1 , wherein the buoyant kickboard comprises a polymer which is at least one selected from the group consisting of ethylene-vinyl acetate, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, and thermoplastic polyurethane. 
     
     
         3 . The swimming instruction system of  claim 1 , wherein the buoyant kickboard has a substantially flattened shape that includes a distal end that is convex and a proximal end that is concave. 
     
     
         4 . The swimming instruction system of  claim 3 , wherein the buoyant kickboard has a distal end groove disposed in the distal end and oriented substantially parallel to a length of the buoyant kickboard from the distal end to the proximal end. 
     
     
         5 . The swimming instruction system of  claim 1 , wherein the limb piece comprising a limb sensor is at least one selected from the group consisting of a wrist piece comprising a wrist sensor and a wrist strap, and an ankle piece comprising an ankle sensor and an ankle strap. 
     
     
         6 . The swimming instruction system of  claim 1 , wherein the optical projector is contained within a projector module disposed on a distal end of the buoyant kickboard. 
     
     
         7 . The swimming instruction system of  claim 6 , wherein the projector module is configured to be removably attached to the buoyant kickboard. 
     
     
         8 . The swimming instruction system of  claim 7 , wherein the projector module is configured to be secured within a distal end groove disposed in the distal end and oriented substantially parallel to a length of the buoyant kickboard from the distal end to the proximal end. 
     
     
         9 . The swimming instruction system of  claim 6 , wherein the controller is contained within the projector module. 
     
     
         10 . The swimming instruction system of  claim 9 , wherein the projector module further comprises a wireless communication module connected to the controller. 
     
     
         11 . The swimming instruction system of  claim 10 , wherein the system further comprises a user input device configured to receive user input and transmit the user input to the controller. 
     
     
         12 . The swimming instruction system of  claim 1 , wherein the optical projector comprises a user input sensor configured to receive user input and transmit the user input to the controller. 
     
     
         13 . The swimming instruction system of  claim 1 , further comprising
 a user identification badge disposed on the limb piece and encoding user-identifying information; and   an identification badge sensor disposed on the optical projector,   wherein the identification badge sensor is configured to detect the user identification badge and decode the user-identifying information.   
     
     
         14 . The swimming instruction system of  claim 1 , further comprising an earpiece configured to be worn on an ear of a user and to receive auditory information from the controller and play the auditory information for the user. 
     
     
         15 . The swimming instruction system of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to
 analyze sensor data from limb sensor to detect a limb motion;   compare a detected limb motion with a predicted limb motion;   generate a user advice;   transmit to the optical projector user-readable information including the user advice; and   display the user advice using the optical projector.   
     
     
         16 . The swimming instruction system of  claim 15 , wherein the limb sensor is a wrist sensor, the detected limb motion is a detected arm motion, the predicted limb motion is a predicted arm motion. 
     
     
         17 . The swimming instruction system of  claim 15 , wherein the limb sensor is an ankle sensor, the detected limb motion is a detected leg motion, and the predicted limb motion is a predicted leg motion. 
     
     
         18 . The swimming instruction system of  claim 1 , wherein the buoyant kickboard comprises a plurality of detachable sections. 
     
     
         19 . A method of teaching a user to swim using the swimming teaching system of  claim 1 , the method comprising
 analyzing sensor data from the limb sensor to detect a limb motion;   comparing a detected limb motion with a predicted limb motion;   generating a user advice; and   displaying the user advice using the optical projector.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising producing an auditory advice audible to a user.