Last Updated on January 5, 2023 by pg@petergamma.org
We are struggeling with Garmin, Strava and other companies which do not allow an easy access to sports sensor data. We have discussed the different options how this can be solved, which are very unpopular to this date.
To solve this problem, we can also build a system, which is based on open source hardware and open source software. Bitalino onces supported us in the Bitalino forum, how to build a foot pod made of Bitalino components. It was based on the Bitalino RIOT with WIFI transmission.
Unfortunately, the Bitalino forum is not available anymore. And WIFI foot pods aren t very popular as well, since WFI is power hungry. And who wants to mount a big battery pack on his foot to power a foot pod from it?
We thought about how this problem could be solved. OpenBCI has a built in accelerometer. There are different algorithms available to build a step counter from an accelerometer and a foot pod. On the long-term, it is highly desirable to have an open system which can be controlled by the user and not by a company. And we think it is time to invest some time to build a foot pod ourselves.
OpenBCI can also be connected over Bluetooth Low Energy to the OpenBCI GUI, as many sports foot pods can be connected over BLE to a sports watch. If we want to combine sensor data from a foot pod, ECG and EEG, we could use a cable for the foot pod. But is this a robust solution?
We could have different OpenBCI modules for EEG, ECG and a foot pod, as we have described it here:
To join sensor data from different sensors, a solution based on InfluxDB seems to be the most professional solution according to our own little exerience.
But since we are non-coder, wet let the project described here be for the moment. But eventually, coders and engineers are inspired by our project, and bring it to reality.