Measuring horizontal Speed with Arduino

Development Boards Arduino
1

Hi there,

I am working on a project to produce a wearable device consisting of an arduino and relevant sensors that can record/output a reading about a humans speed over a certain distance. The device should be strapped securely to the user and the speed will be measured from point a to point b.

My question is what kinds of sensors would be required for such a reading to be obtained? Could it be done with an accelerometer? Or would i need something like an IMU? Is this at all possible?

Im not looking for any specific reading, ie velocity or acceleration, I would settle for anything that was possible.

Any feedback or ideas would be greatly appreciated!

2

If you are measuring between fixed points along a track, why does it need to be attached to the runner and be wireless? What’s wrong with optical detection (focused light beam on a light sensitive detector) of a person crossing a start and finish line? (and measure the time in between)