Apple patent filing shows off activity monitor for skiers, bikers
By Laura June 
posted June 11th 2009 2:46PM
posted June 11th 2009 2:46PM
Fans of more extreme sports will probably be stoked to hear that Apple just might be developing a device with them in mind. Apple Insider's discovered a recent patent filing that could possibly signal the development of a monitoring device (much like Nike+) which can detect, track, and display a visual and quantitative measure, for instance, of a skier's speed and air time. The device looks like it would contain one or more loft sensors (in one photo it is shown installed in a snowboard) and a microprocessor subsystem to determine loft time. There are of course, no guarantees that a product like this will ever see the light of day, but we sure hope so: runner favoritism must end. One more page of the filing after the break.
Fig. 17 and 19 looks like a ......dil..missile.
My thought exactly...Had I not read the text in the figure, I would have thought Apple circumvented the whole "where do I attach this" dilemma by making their new activity monitor a rectally-inserted device. Were that the case, I suppose we could applaud them for further integratint their technology with the owner. However, I think it would likely cause an increase in Apple products beind dropped in the toilet beyond those that decide its a necessity to talk on their phone and relieve themselves at the same time.
This makes my inner physicist go crazy. I really wish they'll one day release a product based on one of those wacky patent fillings.
What next! A sensor in starbucks cups to sense how hot the coffee is for all the Mac user's who sit in there all day using the free internet.
That's a great idea!
An Apple snowboard?
Presenting a new product from Apple: iBoard. The first board that talks to you. It tells you the trick you are currently performing and the hight of your jump. The voice depends on the way you syncronise your board with your computer, depending on what do you use a mac or a pc.
You performed: Wipeout
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED
You can synch up your iBoard to iTunes. Watch a movie while snowboarding!
Someone tell Apple that Video game players are not the sheep that iPod and Mac users are.
So they can forget about getting into the REAL video gaming market... Apple/M$ and Sony have al the patents locked up tight.
No, of course they aren't sheep. They don't complain en masse when certain consoles have myriad hardware failures and scratch disks and overcharge them for games or make them pay with points instead of real money. God no, the last thing they could be are sheep. If anything they are a bit "special."
uumm .... so apple stuff never fails? apple doesnt overcharge for things? i dont see your point, hell my 2006 xbox red ringed after over 2 years of abuse, i got a new one for free ... im sure if something from apple fails you could get it for free ... whats your point?
mac users are sheep? Let's think about that.
Who is more of a sheep? The guy who thinks about what they want in a computer and decides to buy a mac, or the guy who buys another windows PC right after their old one just crashed? They guy who wants a nice looking computer that works every time and he can get hassle-free tech support, or the guy that buys hardware and software from two different companies because that's what he's conditioned to do thanks to a near-monoply in operating systems?
I never seem to understand how 8% of the market can routinely be considered sheep.
Asswipe.
@ Trelane.
Video gamers? Where did that come from???
As an avid skier the only thing i can see this being useful for is if it can map my runs and identify any points i am having difficulty at. It would also need data from the length of my ski and my body so I could identify WHAT difficulty i was having.
Otherwise its stupid.
http://www.mountaindynamics.com/en/
This tracks your runs, and you can tell when you have had difficulty by when the velocity quickly goes to zero in the middle of a run :P
But if you want to improve your technique, get someone to take video of your riding.
I have to disagree. I have an altimeter in my watch, i pay to have people clock my runs, why not have an on board nike+ monitor. I would love to know just how long that last table top was or how fast i was really going straight lining. Consider me an early adopter if this ever sees the light of day.
ive found the iphone to be pretty useless during skiing/boarding. having to take off my gloves every time i want to use it is a pain. i know i could buy some of those iphone-friendly gloves, but screw that.
Every other MP3 player is a pain when using gloves anyway... unless you have one of those old huge radios with those big ass knobs...
Use the old iPod shuffle. Fit it into your glove, run the cord up through your sleeve to your headphones. Has worked perfectly for the past three years for me. You'll never have to take your glove off again
Wait, seriously? Do you also put hot dogs in your gloves in case you get hungry?
That would be why there are voice controls on the new iPhone. Or, at least, one of the reasons why.
Listening to music when your skiing/snowboarding is not a good idea anyways. To many idiots on the slops these days and not being able to hear them behind can get you hurt when they slam into you.
@munir: How about these gloves? http://www.thenorthface.com/catalog/sc-gear/etip-glove.html?parent_category_rn=
Well we can just hope that the hinges on those things don't crack as easily as those on a MacBook Air...
fig 19... Mattel hoverboard?
That thing's a baby's toy.
They need to include a sensor that measures the pucker factor... would be nice to see the tightness of your sphincter on a graph with speed and vertical feet.
Love that snowboard illustration... What is this, 1987?
Oh, and for those of you who want this (Dave), check out ShadowBox: http://www.shadowboxlive.com/
"Not compatible with ski areas near Redmond, WA."
Holy crap! Apple is on the verge of inventing skis and bikes! Let's all bow to El Jobso!
Want. Now. Ok, fine, I can wait till November, seeing as how I don't feel like glacier shredding when there's beach time to be had. This is going to be fun. And when someone inevitably gets hurt, they'll know just how much force it took to break their femur. Sweet!
Forget trying to use the iPhone through your gloves. IPhone 3GS has voice control for your music and / or phone functions. Plus by the time they get this product out it'll probably be controllable via voice & bluetooth. I don't see why it would be stupid... I can see a lot of value in measuring a skier's speed, route, air time & distance.
Regarding the video game comment - it doesn't sound like this is for a *video game*, it sounds like it would be for the real thing - which would exersize real muscles and require breathing real (thin) air, probably not something you'd be interested in or capable of...
where are all the innovative microsoft patents? Thought so.
check out fitbit.com, could be extended for this same application plus alot more
Does it kill the user if he falls down or something? Apple can't afford to have its products look bad.
Sounds a lot like the Hangtimer. The people that make hangtimer already ported their technology into an iPhone app. Nothing like Apple taking someone elses product, tweaking the patent, and then making a boatload of money off it while the little guy loses out. I got a Hangtimer through an aquaintence, so I'm not affiliated with the guys at DropZone Corp at all or trying to promote a product of my own.
"Nothing like Apple taking someone elses product, tweaking the patent, and then making a boatload of money off it "
Yeah, Microsoft never did anything like that before.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Computer,_Inc._v._Microsoft_Corporation
Because you have to like Microsoft to hate Apple?
-1 for Ryan.
Point well taken that Apple isn't the only company to do that. I guess I should have said one of the big boys takes some small company's idea and then exploits the loopholes in the patent and knocks the little guy out of the picture.
Another area of Apple... Sports. :)
Nokia Lab has a program called Sports Tracker that does exactly the same thing... and better.
Auto-sensing tampons?
sportstracker.nokia.com
there are plenty of devices out there that do that already by polar, suunto, and etc... apple sure lacks originality in this arena.
looks like apple is inventing a real hoverboard to me.....
My first thought was, Hover board!