Smart Shoe in Silicon Valley
22. September 2018The so-called “smart shoe” that is being developed by researchers from the Centre of Polymer Systems has taken another step closer to production. It was even presented in the American Silicon Valley in September. Researchers from Zlín together with representatives of the Miomove company, that had initiated the idea of developing a smart shoe, showed the product to the world for the first time in San Francisco.
The essence of the product lies in pressure sensors built into the smart shoe that record and assess movement and the moment when the person takes a step. It is intended for athletes, for members of the Integrated Rescue System as well as for diabetic patients or stroke patients, who sometimes have to learn to walk again.
The research team have successfully integrated a system of special nanosensors into an insole with maximum flexibility and almost 4 mm in thickness. “Thanks to the fact that we managed to integrate this unique technology into a very thin and flexible insole, we will be able to, for example, offer a smartphone application to parents that will provide them with maximum information about their child’s walking progress, balancing skills and posture. They will obtain valuable information that may later help them positively influence their child’s further development. It is not only about assessing the moment when you take a step and whether you perform your physical activity correctly; by joint effort, we managed to take this technology much further,” described Professor Petr Slobodian, head of the research team, that is dealing with nanosensors in the Centre of Polymer Systems of TBU in Zlín.
Special patent-protected sensors are made of a composite material containing carbon nanotubes. “The technology that we use in the smart insole has very sensitive reaction to pressure. Therefore, our following task is to explore and develop material properties in such a manner as to be able to use the insole for adults, as well as for children or adolescents, because they differ in weight,” adds Dr. Robert Olejník, another member of the team from the Centre of Polymer Systems of TBU in Zlín participating in the development of the product.