DATA COLLECTION APPARATUS AND METHOD

A monitoring system for an outdoor power implement. The monitoring system comprises an accelerometer, a GPS receiver, a processing module, and a storage device. The accelerometer collects impact force data of the outdoor power implement. The GPS receiver collects position data of the outdoor power implement. The processing module is coupled to the accelerometer and the GPS receiver and has a filter module operable to receive the impact force data from the accelerometer, filter the impact data, and provide filtered impact data. The filter module comprises a resistor capacitor filter circuit having a cutoff frequency at 50 Hz. The processing module also has a data extraction module operable to receive the positioning data from the GPS receiver. The storage device is coupled to the processing module and is operable to record the filtered impact data and the positioning data. The outdoor power implement may include a lawnmower.