Interactive Exercise Music- Motivating Activity and Enhancing Games with Music

Utah State University
posted on 02/26/2009

Utah State University is seeking a company interested in commercializing a technology using music to motivate exercise in a new way, satisfying a prevalent need. Health and fitness are at the forefront of consumers’ minds, with health club memberships doubling to 40 million since 1990 and a steadily growing home fitness market ($3.54 billion in 2006). Developments in portable music devices have made it easier than ever for people to use music as a major component of their exercise routines. However, matching personal music to a routine has been manual and imprecise at best. Addressing this market need, a researcher at Utah State University has developed a new method for influencing and motivating exercise through music, without limiting the music or genre selection. No longer limited to a tempo close to the tempo of the activity, any music can be presented without distortion in direct synchronization with an individual’s movements.

Through another application, Utah State University is seeking a company interested in commercializing a technology using music to enhance interactive video games in a new way. Health and fitness are at the forefront of consumers’ minds, with a steadily growing home fitness market ($3.54 billion in 2006). In 2009, video games and interactive entertainment are expected to bring in $57 billion. Current developments combining video games with exercise have made it easier than ever for many to enjoy exercise in the comfort of their own home.

Suggested Uses

• Interactive/active video games
• Exergaming industry
• Exercise equipment manufacturers
• Personal/sports training and fitness
• Physical therapy/rehabilitation
• Respiratory therapy/weaning
• Oxygen-deprived environments
• Pilot performance in emergencies
• Reducing anxiety in sedation
• Stress reduction
• Reducing space motion sickness

Advantages

• Independent of artistic nature of songs (variable tempos/loudness), resulting in consistent rhythm in listeners’ favorite songs
• Preset, manual, or interactive nature increases user convenience/relaxation through focus on music, instead of continually monitoring activity pace
• Preprogrammed workouts result in users ability to create, save, track, and view own workouts, increasing motivation

Innovation Details

Detailed Description

Using music of the listener’s choice or from a predetermined menu, the invention enables control of an activity’s frequency (such as pace or breathing) through a method that presents the listener with a combined base track of prerecorded music (base tempo) and a rhythmic musical track (activity tempo). The activity tempo, which can be pre-programmed, manual, or interactive based on sensor feedback, is altered to influence the pace of the activity. For the first time, enhanced instrumental tracks at secondary tempos can interact with multiple responses (pace, respiration and heart rates) in relation to the base tempo to serve aerobic and other training functions.

File Number: W07045

Other Information:

One issued patent and one pending utility patent.

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