Apparatus, systems, and methods for gathering and processing biometric and biomechanical data

A measurement system comprising:

• at least one sensor configured to associate with a first body portion and output data relating to movement of said first body portion, said movement of said first body portion with respect to the movement of a second body portion;
• a first processor configured to receive and process the data;
• a second processor configured to receive and process the data;
• and
• a transceiver configured to communicate with said sensor and communicate wirelessly with the first processor and the second processor;
• wherein the at least one sensor is configured to operate at a sample rate that is adjustable independently of the sample rate of any other sensor, thus allowing output of data from the at least one sensor to be increased if the first body portion (with which the sensor is associated) is expected to move more quickly than a second body portion and also allowing output of data from the at least one sensor to be decreased if the first body portion is expected to move more slowly than a second body portion.

A body movement monitoring system comprising:

• at least two body movement sensors configured to attach to first and second body appendages that move with respect to one another each sensor further configured to sense and transmit data relating to position and orientation of the sensors in three-dimensional space over time;
• a master control unit configured to receive information from the sensors and transmit that information wirelessly;
• a first storage medium having reference information for comparison to the sensor information;
• a first processor configured to analyze the sensor information, compare it to reference information, and generate visual images related to the sensor information and the relative movement of the first and second body appendages in three-dimensional space over time;
• a display device allowing the user to view the visual images during or shortly after the body movements have been made;
• and
• a second storage medium for retaining the sensor information for later comparison.

A method of monitoring body movement using a body movement monitoring system, the method comprising:

• associating at least two sensors with a first appendage of a user, each of said sensors having an adjustable sample rate, and each sensor comprising an accelerometer, a magnetometer, and a gyroscope;
• associating at least two sensors with a second appendage of a user, each sensor comprising an accelerometer, a magnetometer, and a gyroscope;
• connecting a transceiver to a user such that the transceiver accompanies the user during a sports activity and is configured to communicate with said sensors and wirelessly transmit data received from said sensors;
• communicating a command from the transceiver to at least one of the sensors associated with the first appendage to adjust the sample rate of that sensor without affecting a sample rate of any other sensor;
• remotely receiving and processing data from said sensors with a first processor;
• displaying characteristics of the user's performance based on said data processed by said first processor;
• and
• receiving and storing data for research or archival purposes with a second processor.