Measuring foot contact time and foot loft time of a person in locomotion

A method for determining a rate that a person is moving on foot relative to a surface comprising steps of:

• (a) determining a foot contact time of the person in locomotion;
• and
• (b) if the foot contact time is less than a first amount of time, then deriving the rate at which the person is moving according to a first equation in which the foot contact time is a factor;
• and
• (c) if the foot contact time is greater than a second amount of time, which is greater than the first amount of time, then deriving the rate at which the person is moving according to a second equation in which the foot contact time is a factor.

A device for determining a rate at which a person in locomotion is moving on foot, comprising:

• a signal processor adapted to receive information regarding at least one foot contact time, the signal processor being configured such that:
• if the at least one foot contact time is less than a first amount of time, then the signal processor derives the rate at which the person is moving according to a first equation in which the at least one foot contact time is a factor;
• and
• if the at least one foot contact time is greater than a second amount of time, which is greater than the first amount of time, then the signal processor derives the rate at which the user is moving according to a second equation in which the at least one foot contact time is a factor.

A method for monitoring activity of a person in locomotion on foot, comprising steps of:

• (a) using a first electronic device to determine at least one foot contact time of the person;
• (b) using the first electronic device to calculate a rate at which the person is moving relative to a surface based upon the at least one foot contact time determined in the step (a);
• and
• (c) transmitting information, which is based upon the rate calculated in the step (b), from the first electronic device to a second electronic device via a wireless communication channel.

A method for analyzing motion of a foot of a person relative to a surface, comprising steps of:

• (a) using an accelerometer located entirely above a bottom surface of the foot to sense acceleration of the foot and to provide a signal indicative of acceleration of the foot;
• (b) providing the signal from the accelerometer to a signal processor;
• and
• (c) using the signal processor to analyze the signal to determine a moment that the foot leaves the surface during a footstep taken by the person.