CH711957B1 - System and method for measuring with correction of the finishing time of an athlete in a race - Google Patents

Abstract

The measurement system makes it possible to correct a finish time of an athlete (20) in a running race. The system includes a personalized transponder module (1) placed on an upper part of the athlete's body and a base station (10). The transponder module comprises a signal reception unit (3), a data, measurement or command processing unit (4), a data and/or measurement signal transmission unit (5) and/or controls, and a motion sensor (7) for providing measurement signals to the processing unit. The motion sensor may be a gyroscope (7) connected to the processing unit in the transponder module and configured to determine an angle of inclination of the athlete's body relative to a vertical direction when crossing the line finish time (30) for correction of the race finish time. The invention also relates to a measurement method using this system to correct a race finish time based on measuring the angle of inclination of the athlete's body.

Description

Field of the invention

[0001] The invention relates to a measurement system with correction of the arrival time of an athlete in a foot race by means of a transponder module adapted to the athlete and preferably worn on an upper part of the body of the athlete during the race.

[0002] The invention also relates to a measurement method with correction of the arrival time of an athlete in a foot race for activating the measurement system.

Background of the invention

[0003] During a sports competition such as a sprint race in athletics, each athlete starts from a starting block. Each athlete is often equipped with a transponder module, which is integrated into the numbered bib. The athlete's unofficial timing or race time is taken from the reading of the transponder module, which appears when said transponder module crosses the finish line. After that, the official time is judged following the photofinish image taken taking into account IAAF 165.2 regulations.

[0004] It should be noted that this time must be taken at the moment when any part of the torso reaches the vertical plane near the edge of the finish line. This official time is normally available approximately between 10 and 20 seconds after the unofficial time, which constitutes a long period for spectators viewing said race.

[0005] If an athlete crosses the finish line while being in a straight position, the transponder module is in a position, which entirely corresponds to the position for judging the time on the photofinish image. Thus, the error between the unofficial time of the transponder module and the official time taken from the photofinish image differs only depending on the inaccuracy of the detection of the transponder module. However, many athletes bend forward when crossing the finish line to gain an advantage in photofinish image judging. In this case, the athlete is judged on the shoulders forward with the photofinish image, while the transponder module crosses the finish line more than 10 cm behind this finish point. So the difference between the unofficial and official transponder module times can be quite large. Furthermore, in the case of a close finish of several athletes, the ranking of each may also be incorrect.

[0006] According to the state of the art, and depending on the aforementioned time difference between the time of the transponder and the time of the photofinish image, the unofficial classification is published only when the difference in the time of the transponder module of two athletes is greater than 0.1 s. If the difference is smaller, no leaderboard is shown to viewers until the official photofinish image times are available.

Summary of the invention

[0007] The invention therefore aims to overcome the disadvantages of the aforementioned state of the art by proposing a measurement system with correction of the arrival time of an athlete in a foot race by means of a module with a transponder adapted to the athlete and worn on an upper part of the athlete's body during the race.

[0008] To this end, the invention relates to a measuring system with correction of the arrival time of an athlete in a race, which comprises the characteristics defined in independent claim 1.

[0009] Particular embodiments of the measuring system with correction of the arrival time of an athlete in a track race are defined in dependent claims 2 to 9.

[0010] An advantage of the measurement system with correction of the arrival time lies in the fact that with the transponder module placed on an upper part of the athlete's body, it is possible to correct the arrival time of an athlete following the passage of the transponder module at the finish line. The transponder module comprises at least one movement sensor capable of providing information on an angle of inclination of the upper part of the athlete's body when crossing the finish line. With the information provided by the transponder module on the moment of crossing the finish line and the determined angle of inclination, this makes it possible to estimate the arrival time of the transponder module. A correction of the unofficial finish time based on the passage of the transponder module over the finish line can thus be calculated.

[0011] Advantageously, the transponder module comprises at least one movement sensor for measuring the angle and inclination of the upper part of the athlete's body. This motion sensor may be an inertial motion sensor. It may be a gyroscope connected to a processing unit capable of carrying out calculations on the basis of the gyroscope measurements to transmit the inclination angle information when crossing the finish line. The gyroscope must in principle be calibrated initially to be able to determine a difference in orientation, that is to say an angle of inclination in relation to a vertical or horizontal direction.

The transponder module is placed on an upper part of the athlete's body, particularly in the numbered bib. Once calibrated and activated, the gyroscope determines the inclination of the athlete when crossing the finish line to be able to correct the unofficial finish time determined and provided by the transponder module in relation to the official time determined with the photofinish image. By means of the data signal transmitted by the transponder module, an unofficial correct ranking of the athletes at the end of their race can be immediately provided at the finish of a track race, for example a sprint race.

[0013] For this purpose, the invention also relates to a method of measuring with correction of the arrival time of an athlete in a foot race for activating the measuring system, and which includes the characteristics defined in the independent claim 10.

[0014] Particular steps of the measurement method are defined in dependent claims 11 to 14.

Brief description of the drawings

[0015] The aims, advantages and characteristics of the measurement system with correction of the arrival time of an athlete in a foot race, and the method of activating the measurement system will appear better in the following description of at least one non-limiting embodiment illustrated by the drawings in which: Figure 1 schematically represents the main elements of a measuring system with correction of the finishing time of an athlete in a foot race according to the invention, Figures 2a to 2c schematically represent an athlete, who is provided with a transponder module showing a view of his passage of a finish line in a straight position and two views with the upper part of the body bent when passing the finish line, and Figure 3 schematically represents an athlete, who is equipped with a transponder module in the starting position on a starting block.

Detailed description of the invention

[0016] In the following description, all the elements of the measurement system with correction of the arrival time of an athlete in a running race, which are well known to those skilled in the art in this technical field, will not be recounted. only in a simplified manner. Running can be done on the track or on the road or in the forest or in the mountains.

[0017] Figure 1 schematically represents the main elements, which make up a measurement system with correction of the finishing time of an athlete in a track or road race. To do this, the system comprises one or more transponder modules 1 and at least one base station 10 for the communication of data and/or measurements and/or commands between the transponder modules 1 and the base station 10. Each transponder module 1 for competition is placed on a part of the body of an athlete, for example in a numbered bib, and is therefore personalized or adapted to the athlete who wears it. Preferably, the transponder module 1 is placed on an upper part of the athlete's body, such as the thorax. As explained below, said transponder module is placed at the level of the center of gravity, such as the thorax. This makes it possible to detect the rotation of the athlete's upper body, particularly when crossing the finish line, to correct the athlete's unofficial race time.

[0018] Preferably at the finish line, there is provided an antenna loop on the ground or a side antenna aligned with the finish line to be able to transmit a magnetic field signal. This magnetic field signal can be stationary or with synchronization modulation by determined period. The transponder module 1 of each athlete in the race can detect the passage of the finish line by measuring one or more intensities of the magnetic field near the finish antenna. A prediction of the arrival time by the transponder module 1 can also be determined on this basis. A measurement of time can also be carried out in the transponder module 1 or by transmission of signals measuring the intensity of the field captured to the base station 10. It is also possible for the transponder module 1 to be awakened and/or synchronized by another antenna at the start or at different points on the race track.

The transponder module 1 can be of the active type with a battery or solar cell or other energy source integrated into the module or of the passive type by being powered by the reception of a traditional interrogation or wake-up signal . However with the use of one or more motion sensors in the transponder module, it is necessary to have an active type transponder module.

The transponder module 1 comprises a wireless signal reception unit 3 for receiving via an antenna 2 data or command signals coming from a base station 10 or from a transmitter arranged in a starting block of the measurement system or along a route or the race track or also at the finish line of the race. Preferably, the signals received by the antenna 2 linked to the reception unit 3 are signals allowing the awakening or synchronization of the transponder module 1, which can be in a rest state before reception of such signals. These synchronization signals are generated, as indicated above, by the base station 10 or by a transmitter from the starting block or along the running track, after the signal of preparation for the start of an athletics race in particular or directly at the time of the starting gunshot.

[0021] It should be noted that the transponder module 1 may also not include a reception unit 3, in order to only carry out measurements by at least one movement sensor and transmit the information to the base station. for the correction of an arrival time.

The transponder module 1 also comprises a processing unit 4, which can be a state machine, a processor or a microcontroller, for managing all the data or commands or measurements to be received or transmitted. Synchronization of said processing unit can also be carried out from the start of the race, if it includes a time base to allow the determination of a race time. Synchronization of the transponder module 1 can also be carried out at different points of the race or near the finish line. The processing unit 4 receives the data or commands formatted in the reception unit 3 so as to also wake up all the components which make up the transponder module 1. The processing unit 4 is also connected to a unit for transmitting signals 5 by an antenna 6 to the base station 10. The base station 10 can be a race timing system and includes an antenna 11 for transmitting or receiving signals.

[0023] The transponder module 1 further comprises at least one motion sensor 7 linked to the processing unit 4 to provide measurement signals continuously or intermittently to the processing unit 4 once the transponder module is awake and/or synchronized. The transponder module 1 may comprise as a movement sensor at least one gyrometer or gyroscope 7. Preferably, the gyroscope 7 makes it possible to determine a speed of rotation and an angle of rotation of the upper part of the athlete's body to determine a angle α of the upper part of the body for example relative to a vertical or perpendicular direction to the track. This determination of the gyroscope is obviously only possible if the initial orientation is known. The measurement signals are supplied directly to the processing unit 4. The angle of inclination α can also be determined with respect to a horizontal direction.

It should be noted that the movement sensor of the transponder module 1 can also be an assembly, which includes a triaxial accelerometer 8, a triaxial gyroscope 7 and a triaxial magnetic sensor not shown. This assembly defines a 9-axis inertial sensor.

[0025] The transponder module 1 can also include another movement sensor, which is an accelerometer 8 also linked to the processing unit 4. This accelerometer 8 can measure the acceleration of an athlete at the time of departure from the race and stride rates throughout the race and until the finish. In addition, the gyroscope 7 can be triaxial, as well as the accelerometer 8 so as to take measurements in the three directions x, y, z.

[0026] In the transponder module 1, the measurement signals from the gyroscope 7 and the accelerometer 8 or other types of sensors are sampled by the processing unit 4 or directly by the sensor itself before transmission to the processing unit 4. The measurement signals can be transmitted directly to the base station 10 using the wireless transmission unit 5. However, the measurement signals can be improved in particular after filtering and then stored and/or or subsequently sent to the base station 10. It can also be planned to process the data from the various sensors and any detection event. It can also be planned to process extracted movement characteristics, such as the frequency of steps and transmit this information to the base station 10 in addition to the actual data from the accelerometer 8 and the gyroscope 7.

It should also be noted that the signals received by the antenna 2 linked to the reception unit 3 can be low frequency signals of the order of 125 kHz, while the signals transmitted by the antenna 6 linked to the transmission unit 5 can be relatively high frequency signals, for example HF or UHF signals at a frequency greater than 300 MHz. However, it may be conceivable to have a transponder module 1 with a single switchable receiving and transmitting antenna for receiving or transmitting data signals. In this scenario, it is preferred to have reception of at least one wake-up signal and transmission of data signals at a similar carrier frequency with modulation of the transmitted data FSK, BPSK, QPSK or ON-OFF Keying.

[0028] As it is possible to view in Figures 2a to 2c, an athlete 20 can cross the finish line 30 in a straight position, that is to say with a small angle α of inclination of the upper part of the body relative to the vertical. The transponder module 1 therefore passes at the same time as the upper part of the body as shown in Figure 2a. If an athlete 20 bends forward, when he passes the finish line 30, the transponder module 1 is still set back a distance Δx from the finish line 30 as shown in Figure 2b. Finally when the transponder module 1 passes the finish line as shown in Figure 2c and is detected by the base station of the timing measurement system, it obtains a time stamp. This time stamp is Δx/v too late in comparison to the athlete's final official time 20, where v is the athlete's speed. For example for a 100 m sprint race, the speed of the athlete 20 is close to 12 m/s passing the finish line 30.

By having an estimate of the inclination α of the upper part of the athlete's body 20, the speed v and the average position of the transponder module 1 on the upper part of the body, it is possible to provide by approximation the detection error and correct it. For example, if the transponder module 1 is placed at a distance d, for example 25 cm below the shoulders of the athlete 20, the inclination α can be measured by the gyroscope of the transponder module 1 of the upper part of the body at an angle α of 66° as shown in Figures 2b and 2c, with a speed of a sprint race at 12 m/s. This running speed can preferably be calculated in the transponder module 1, or even in the base station 10, at the time of crossing the finish line 30 by the measurements of the movement sensors 7, 8.

The distance d can also be estimated on the basis of anthropometric parameters of each athlete. This distance d can thus be a function of the height of the athlete. The estimated distance can also be provided directly with the manufacturer of each race bib.

The racing time taken by the transponder module 1 of an athlete can be equal to 9,598 s. The distance error becomes Δx = (25 cm) · sin(α) = 22.8 cm and the time error Δt = Δx/v = 0.019 s. So the correct finishing time would then be 9.579 s, which is rounded according to athletics regulations to 9.58 s. This corresponds to the official race time to be communicated for example to the spectators of said race more quickly than the correct determination by the photofinish image of the official race time of each athlete 20.

[0032] As shown in Figure 3 at the time of departure, an athlete 20, who is provided with a transponder module 1, is squatting and resting with his two feet against two support blocks 41 of a starting block 40, which is arranged and fixed on the floor of the track. Preferably, the motion sensor may be a 9-axis inertial sensor. To estimate the inclination α of the upper part of the body based on the gyroscope signals, it is necessary to know the initial angle, for example at the start of the race. This angle α can be obtained by measuring the vector of the center of gravity g using a triaxial accelerometer. This initial angle is stored in the transponder module, which must be activated for this measurement at least immediately before departure. The initial angle is therefore memorized during the phase after the announcement of preparation for departure and before the start of the race. Once the initial angle is known, the inclination of the upper body can be calculated by rotation operations based on the gyroscope signals during the race and mainly at the finish.

It should be noted that it is necessary to have an initial condition to enable the angle of inclination α to be determined. The transponder module with the motion sensor must be calibrated to be able to perform this measurement of the angle of inclination when crossing the finish line. This initial condition can preferably be defined before the start of the race, when the athlete remains ready as shown in Figure 3, but can also be estimated during the race before crossing the finish line.

[0034] For the method of measuring a race time for activating the measurement system, it can be planned to measure the angle of the upper part of the body of a racing athlete in the transponder module . This module can be activated from the start or in intermediate positions between the start and the finish line, or at the finish. Preferably the transponder module is activated from the start of the race. The motion sensor, which may include at least the gyroscope, is intended to determine an angle of inclination of the upper part of the athlete's body, which carries the transponder module. An initial orientation of the transponder module can be set and stored just before the start of the race. Thus, once the transponder module approaches the finish line and for example by detecting low frequency interrogation signals from an arrival antenna, a determination of the inclination angle and the time difference can be calculated directly in said transponder module. Once calculated, there can be a transmission of data signals or commands to the base station to define a corrected race time. However, it can also be provided that only the inclination angle measured in the transponder module is transmitted with a calculation of the time difference carried out directly after the base station has crossed the finish line.

[0035] It should be noted that the activated transponder module can also transmit all the measurement data carried out by its sensors to the base station, which in this case determines and calculates the time difference and the correction of the unofficial time of every athlete.

[0036] From the description which has just been made, several variants of the measuring system and method with correction of the arrival time of an athlete in a race can be designed by those skilled in the art without departing from the framework of the invention defined by the claims. It may be planned to have several transponder modules on a part of the athlete's body for determining the angle of inclination when crossing the finish line and correcting the unofficial finish time.

Claims (14)

1. Measuring system with correction of a finishing time of at least one athlete (20) in a foot race, the measuring system comprising at least one transponder module (1) personalized and intended to be placed on an athlete and a base station (10), said transponder module (1) comprising a processing unit (4) for data, measurements or commands, a transmission unit (5) for data signals and/or measurements and/or controls, and at least one movement sensor (7, 8) to provide measurement signals to the processing unit (4), characterized in that the movement sensor is configured in such a way as to determine an angle of inclination α of the athlete's body with respect to a vertical or horizontal direction when crossing the finish line (30) for correction of a race finishing time. 2. Measuring system according to claim 1, characterized in that the movement sensor is a gyroscope (7) connected to the processing unit (4) in the transponder module (1). 3. Measuring system according to claim 2, characterized in that the transponder module (1) comprises yet another movement sensor, which is an accelerometer (8) connected to the processing unit (4) for the detection of 'a variation in movement of said module or in a level of vibration of said module. 4. Measuring system according to claim 3, characterized in that the gyroscope (7) is a triaxial gyroscope, and in that the accelerometer (8) is a triaxial accelerometer. 5. Measuring system according to claim 1, characterized in that the movement sensor is a 9-axis inertial sensor, which comprises an assembly with a triaxial accelerometer (8), a triaxial gyroscope (7) and a triaxial magnetic sensor. 6. Measuring system according to claim 2, for which the transponder module (1) is intended to be arranged on an upper part of the athlete's body (20), characterized in that the gyroscope (7) is configured to be calibrated at the start of a race and to be able to determine an angle of inclination α of the athlete's body when crossing the finish line, in order to calculate the athlete's racing time. 7. Measuring system according to claim 6, characterized in that the processing unit (4) is intended to calculate a temporal error Δt of a running time of the athlete (20) on the basis of the angle of inclination α with respect to a vertical direction, a distance d of the transponder module (1) relative to the athlete's shoulders and a speed of the athlete v upon arrival, the temporal error being Δt = Δx/v, where Δx = d·sin(α). 8. Measuring system according to claim 7, characterized in that the processing unit (4) is intended to determine a race time of the athlete corrected in the transponder module (1) for transmission of the race time correct from the athlete to the base station (10). 9. Measuring system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the transponder module further comprises a wireless signal reception unit (3) for receiving via an antenna (2) data signals or commands coming from from the base station (10) or from a transmitter placed at the start of the race or along a race route. 10. Measuring method with correction of the arrival time of an athlete in a foot race for activating the measuring system according to one of claims 1 to 9, for which the measuring system comprises at least one transponder module (1) personalized and intended to be placed on an athlete and a base station (10), said transponder module (1) comprising a processing unit (4) of data, measurements or commands, a unit transmission (5) of data and/or measurement and/or command signals, and at least one movement sensor (7, 8) for supplying measurement signals to the processing unit (4), characterized in what the process includes the steps of: – measure an angle of inclination α of the athlete (20) by means of a movement sensor of the transponder module (1) activated when crossing the finish line (30), – correct a race finish time of the athlete based on the measurement of the inclination angle α in the transponder module (1) or in the base station (10). 11. Measuring method according to claim 10, for which the movement sensor is a gyroscope (7) connected to the processing unit (4) in the transponder module (1), characterized in that once activated, a measurement of the athlete's acceleration is carried out by another movement sensor, which is an accelerometer (8) of the transponder module (1) so as to detect a variation in movement of said module or in a level of vibrations of said module. 12. Measuring method according to one of claims 10 and 11, characterized in that the transponder module (1) is synchronized from the start of the race or at different points of the race or near the finish line by an interrogation or wake-up signal. 13. Measuring method according to claim 12, characterized in that once activated and synchronized, the transponder module (1) determines a corrected racing time when crossing the finish line on the basis of intensity measurements of a magnetic field signal from an antenna near the finish line (30) and picked up by a reception unit (3), and in that the corrected race arrival time is transmitted from the module to transponder (1) to the base station (10). 14. Measuring method according to one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that a calculation of a temporal error Δt of a race finish time of the athlete (20) is carried out in the unit processing (4) of the transponder module on the basis of the inclination angle α relative to a vertical direction, a distance d of the transponder module (1) relative to the shoulders of the athlete and a speed of the athlete v at the finish, the temporal error being Δt = Δx/v, where Δx = d·sin(α).