Beat Pacer

Keep every stride in pace with a beat! Beat Pacer keeps you moving at the right speed, every step of the way. Fine-tuned to your run's specified goals, users can stay on pace and be alerted when off.

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Inspiration

We were initially inspired to create a Tamagotchi-style device that would encourage users to exercise. You would take care of your "Tamagotchi" by doing exercises like push-ups and squats. However, our group thought a device that would more directly encourage effective exercise, would be a more worthwhile project.

What it does

Beat Pacer beeps with a tempo determined by user input, via the LCD display and pushbuttons. By receiving a user's desired pacing (via mile run time) and desired workout length (in miles), Beep Pacer calculates the interval between strides (every 2 steps) and alerts the user accordingly. The user just has to keep their strides in tempo with Beep Pacer's audible alerts, in order to maintain pace for their desired workout. If users fall out of pace, detected by calculating their steps per unit time with the attached IMU, Beat Pacer produces an audible alert, signaling users to either speed up or slow down. Beat Pacer also accounts for pacing deviance, by either increasing or decreasing the beep intervals to still be on track to meet the user's desired pace. The device is also intended to be attached to or held by the user, facilitated by the attached wristband on the backside.

How we built it

Our device utilizes an Arduino Nano and accompanying components (LCD display, buzzer, and IMU) in order to both provide a user interface and calculate needed derivations. The structure of the device consists of connected breadboards that we used to prototype our electronics with. Our device is powered by a 9V battery, also attached to the breadboards. All components are wired via the breadboards.

Challenges we ran into

It was difficult to integrate unfamiliar components and we spent the bulk of our working hours debugging. Our group had much difficulty attempting to incorporate the LCD and the IMU. We specifically had difficulty with jumper wires, as many of the wires that we were using turned out to be faulty. It was also challenging attempting to integrate more functionality into the device. For example, when trying to use the IMU in order to calculate user steps, our group was met with limited documentation using our specific unit with our intended use case.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We have a finished, albeit unrefined, project that we are proud to present. We're also very proud to have overcome our unexpectedly difficult challenges with integrating components.

What we learned

As most groups likely were, we were reminded to always overestimate how long specific tasks will take to complete.

What's next for Beat Pacer

Beat Pacer would benefit from a more sturdy construction with a dedicated enclosure and soldered components. Expansion of sensors would also increase functionality, being able to provide more feedback to users.

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