1. A device for measuring height of a person comprising:
a power supply contained within a housing; said housing having a front shell assembly coupled to a corresponding rear-facing shell configured for mounting onto a stable surface;
said housing having a display aperture with a screen display positioned therein and located adjacent to hardware circuitry having software capable of receiving and storing user input;
a foot platform having an aperture bored therethrough and a tab capable of concealing said aperture;
a retractable tape having two ends, wherein a first end is affixed within said housing and a second end connected to said foot platform by an attachment;
a distance sensor of the linear encoder type which respectively decodes an adjacent retractable tape, and wherein said encoder is comprised of a set of emitter beams and at least one detector, wherein the said emitter beams project onto, and scan over a reflective surface and over an array of non-reflective segments, and wherein said detector reads said signals as the linear tape distance traveled; and
said distance sensor mounted onto a bracket affixed within said housing and capable of determining a height reading of said person; and
wherein said screen display shows said height reading to a user.
2. The device of claim 1, wherein said distance sensor is a rotary encoder, wherein said rotary encoder decodes distance measurements by interpreting rotation of an encoder wheel corresponding to incremental linear distance traveled by said retractable tape.
3. The device of claim 2, wherein said encoder wheel is coaxial with a sprocket having sprocket teeth engaging slots of said retractable tape, causing said sprocket and said encoder wheel to spin in lockstep.
4. The device of claim 1, wherein said screen display is capable of accepting and exhibiting user input thereon and is selected from the group consisting of a touch screen, smartphone, tablet, monitor, camera, speaker, and a scale.
5. The device of claim 1, wherein said hardware circuitry and software are selected from a group consisting of at least one manual pushbutton, processor, wireless radio, memory module, voice recognition module, face recognition module, camera module, microphone, and audio speaker.
6. A method of measuring height of a person, the method comprising:
initiating a height measuring device;
initializing calibration of said height measuring device using an input means;
positioning a foot platform downward by extending a retractable tape to a first position abutting a surface for a predetermined amount of time;
capturing and storing said first position as a calibration reading within encoder hardware and software;
returning said foot platform to its first position by retracting said retractable tape;
repositioning said foot platform in a downward manner to a second position atop said person for a predetermined amount of time;
capturing and storing said second position as a distance reading in said encoder;
Calculating said distance reading from said calibration reading forming a height-measurement reading; and
displaying said height-measurement reading onto a screen display.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein said encoder is selected from a group consisting of a linear encoder and a rotary encoder.
8. The method of claim 6, wherein said initializing calibration by said input means is selected from the group consisting of speaking a voice command, depressing a pushbutton, and using a screen display.
9. A system for measuring height of adult and adolescent users, including the said adolescent user's biological mother and father to additionally facilitate prediction of the heritable future height of said adolescent user, the system comprising:
a processor; and
a non-transitory computer-readable medium coupled to said processor and storing a plurality of instructions, which when executed, cause said processor to handle measurement data, the plurality of instructions comprising:
instructions that cause the processor to determine a height measuring device has initiated;
instructions that cause the processor to determine calibration has initialized;
instructions that cause the processor to determine when a foot platform has moved to a first position on the floor;
instructions that cause the processor to capture and store said first position as a calibration reading;
instructions that cause the processor to determine when said foot platform has moved to a second position;
instructions that cause the processor to capture and store said second position as a distance reading;
instructions that cause the processor to calculate said distance reading from said calibration reading and to determine a resulting height-measurement reading;
instructions that cause the processor to capture and store said resulting height-measurement reading; and
instructions that cause the processor to send said height-measurement reading onto a screen display.
10. The system of claim 9, further comprising instructions that cause the processor to run an algorithm for predicting the heritable future height of said adolescent user, the system comprising:
instructions that cause the processor to retrieve stored data results of said adolescent user; and
instructions that cause the processor to retrieve stored user data results of said adolescent user's said mother and father; and
instructions that cause the processor to utilize said adolescent user data, and the said biological mother and father's user data in order to calculate, and store said heritable future height result of said adolescent user; and
instructions that cause the processor to transmit said heritable future height result of said adolescent user onto said screen display.
11. The system of claim 9, further comprising instructions that cause the processor to determine when a subsequent person initiates said height measuring device, the system comprising:
instructions that cause the processor to determine when said foot platform has moved to a downward position atop said subsequent person;
instructions that cause the processor to capture and store said downward position as a subsequent distance reading;
instructions that cause the processor to calculate said subsequent distance reading from said calibration reading and to determine a resulting height-measurement reading of said subsequent person;
instructions that cause the processor to capture and store said resulting height-measurement reading of said subsequent person; and
instructions that cause the processor to display said resulting height-measurement reading of said subsequent person onto a screen display.
12. The system of claim 9, further comprising instructions that cause the processor to compare heights of at least a pair of individuals and store said compared heights; and
instructions that cause the processor to display said compared heights onto said screen display.