Method of controlling or augmenting a virtual environment or live video broadcast via sensed motion

A method of controlling or augmenting a virtual reality environment or a live video broadcast according to sensed real time motion of a subject, the method comprising:

• receiving, from an accelerometer or inertial measurement unit provided on an article of footwear or apparel worn by the subject, a data stream indicative of a monitored spatial motion of the article of footwear or apparel;
• identifying at least one motion primitive from the received data stream, wherein the motion primitive is a discrete motion of the article of footwear or apparel or a predefined ordered sequence of such discrete motions, the discrete motion comprising one of translation, rotation, acceleration, jerk, impact, or periodic translation;
• augmenting the virtual reality (VR) environment or the live video broadcast with a visual effect in response to the identified motion primitive, wherein the visual effect is displayed at a location corresponding to the subject;
• transmitting a view of the VR environment or the live video broadcast to a viewer for display on a display device;
• and
• wherein the transmitted view of the VR environment or live video broadcast contains the visual effect;
• and
• wherein the visual effect includes a virtual pyrotechnics, or a graphic emanating from the subject within the live video broadcast.