Take your radio for a run

When you're jogging you would usually take music with you while you sweat it out. Not any more. New technology means that you can take your friends jogging with you over the radio waves.

The Jogging over a Distance system uses mobile phone and GPS technology as well as a custom computer program to convert phone conversation into a 2D audio experience.

Each jogging partner puts on a pair of headphones and wears the lightweight prototype in a small backpack.

The system consists of two identical systems, each with a miniature computer, a Bluetooth GPS device, a wireless modem, a mobile phone and a headset.

The mobile phone is connected to the system via an adapter built with off-the-shelf components.

Each system is carried in a small, close-fitting backpack while the user jogs. Speed and time data is collected from the GPS device and sent to the computer. The computer then transmits this data wirelessly over a 3G network to a server that calculates the speed difference.

The server determines where each jogger is running in relation to his or her partner. A sound position value is sent to each computer. As each jogger talks, the voice is picked up by a microphone and sent to their partner's phone. VoIP technology was initially used but the researchers found the time lag and reliability unsuitable.

The incoming audio is then sent to the computer, which uses the sound position value received from the server to transform it into spatial 2D audio experienced through the jogger's headset.

While each partner jogs, speed data is collected and used to position the audio of the conversation in a 2D sound environment. As one jogger speaks, their partner hears the localised audio and can detect whether the other person is going faster, is at the same pace or is going slower.

"The system fits into a small belt-worn pouch. By the time such a system comes to market, new technology advances will have created smaller form-factors," Florian 'Floyd' Mueller, a researcher at Australia's University of Melbourne, said.

It is also possible for the joggers to not only be able to tell who's in front and who's behind but also the distance they are apart. This is because the audio delivers information through a custom-built spatialisation algorithm.

The audio cues runners when to speed up or slow down to 'stay' with their partner. The joggers can discuss running routes, motivate each other to keep pace, or listen to the environment noises of the other location.

For joggers with differing athletic abilities who would like to have the experience of running together, a baseline pace variable can be adjusted that allows each runner to push their own personal pace rather than try to run at their partner's speed.

There are no limitations on how far apart the joggers can be.

"GPS works outdoors only, because it needs clear view to the sky, so treadmill runs are out. However, we are currently working on a system that uses a sensor in the shoe to determine speed, similar to the Nike+, to overcome this limitation," Mueller said.

However, there is a price to pay to use the Jogging over a Distance system — users will have to start up the system by calling the phone of the person they want to jog with.

"A future commercial implementation could be incorporated into a phone or iPod-like device, and many telco providers already offer flatrate-like services. Phone calls are getting cheaper every day," Mueller said