TG0 Smart Soles
‘Smart shoes’ are a well-trodden concept that’s taken a long time to get going. Now though, a combination of software pioneers and advances in pressure mapping technology are providing product designers with great real-world potential to deliver smart shoes for a wide spectrum of sports, health, gaming and workplace applications.
The release of our new smart insoles marks a step-change in smart shoes evolution. These demonstration kits provide a tangible, real-world example of how users can monitor performance and movement, with machine learning providing data-rich insights delivered in real time.
In sport, professional athletes and enthusiastic amateurs will be able to take coaching to the next level, training more efficiently and putting less strain on their bodies. Too often, tweaks to form are subjective, based on trial and error and experience. Progress can be slow and injuries are common – half of all runners, for example, are known to experience injuries during their running career. But a recent study by Maastricht University in the Netherlands showed that smart insoles could accurately measure and predict joint load, reducing the risk of injury significantly. Smart insoles can also help to track an athlete’s rehab and physio after injury.
In golf and baseball, measuring the weight transfer between a player’s feet during their club or bat swing will help them learn how to use the ground more effectively and hit longer shots. And in sports such as skateboarding, snowboarding and skiing, it will be possible to measure and optimise weight balance and transfer.
But there are other use cases too. In virtual reality gaming, much technology has been focused around handsets and controllers for hands. The Apple Vision Pro, which was released recently, for example, has won acclaim among reviewers for its eye-and hand-tracking interface. But less has been done to bring a player’s feet into the game. Smart insoles can help to create a more realistic sense of place, particularly when combined with haptic feedback that helps users feel the ground beneath them.
For doctors and their patients, smart insoles have the potential to revolutionise diabetes monitoring and fall detection for those with mobility challenges. Around one in four diabetics will get a painful foot ulcer in their lifetime, which can lead to infection and lower limb amputation. Pressure mapping technology via smart insoles can provide early warning of an ulcer forming, minimising the need for more serious interventions later on. Doctors and carers can monitor patients remotely in real time helping them provide more personalised care, and to promote self-management to help patients take a proactive approach to their overall wellbeing.
Durable, light and discreet
TG0’s smart insoles have been developed over the past year. They’re thin, durable and light (weighing just 75g each), making little difference to a wearer’s comfort, performance or fit, compared to a standard shoe. And they’ve been designed using flexible electronics and a novel type of circuit board, which has been printed onto fabric. They’re also water resistant.
The 12 groups of sensors are positioned at different points on the foot, with machine learning models used to calculate the pressure. They track the centre of pressure with a real-time heatmap, balance and stability feedback, body alignment, gait analysis, step count, exercise repetition count, and stand/walk/run activity tracking.
The insoles are chargeable, powered by a lithium ion battery, and communicate with a computer or mobile phone via bluetooth light energy (BLE) positioned up to 10 feet away. There’s potential for further development to create an app. It’s a solution that’s significantly lower in cost, compared to other sensor embedded systems, thanks to TG0’s novel polymer-based sensor solution.
Best foot forward
The world is changing. Enterprise customers and the general public want real-time data to optimise performance, personalise their experience and better understand their health. Thanks to the innovative approach of product designers and the evolution of sensing technology firmware, we are now able to provide that to them.
Whether you’re working in sport, healthcare, gaming, or consumer electronics, smart insoles have the potential to elevate your offering. We’d love to discuss your requirements.
Interested in trying TG0 smart insoles? We have demonstrator pairs available now. Contact us for more information.
