When you think of a wearable device, you probably picture a wristband that tracks the steps you’ve taken today, or a watch that keeps tabs on your heartbeat. The IOFIT, however, takes the definition of wearables in a new direction.
Developed by Samsung Electronic‘s spin-off startup Salted Venture, the new smart shoe combines the use of pressure sensors and a companion coaching app to improve users’ athletic performance by targeting improved balance and posture.
The company wanted to make use of the valuable data that can be gained from feet, said Jacob Cho, the CEO of Salted Venture in a Samsung Newsroom article. The idea for the smart shoe began at a Samsung innovation program called C-Lab, whose team later branched off to establish Salted Venture.
In order to figure out which segment of customers might benefit from the product, the team visited fitness centers and golf facilities and learned about force plates — instruments that measure the forces generated by someone standing on or moving across the ground, which are used to study balance and gait.
With the goal of translating the effectiveness of force plates to a smaller, more portable product, the team integrated data analysis technology like accelerometers, which measure acceleration, and pressure sensors into the outsoles of shoes, the part of the shoe that comes into contact with the ground. These devices together can measure the shoe wearer’s balance, weight shift, ground contact force and the location of his or her center of gravity.
The data are updated in real-time while the smart shoe is being worn. Users can view a pressure map on the IOFIT smartphone app, but the real benefit of the shoe/app combo, according to its creators, is that it offers solutions that help users enhance their form rather than simply displaying a compilation of incomprehensible figures.
A video playback feature of the app helps users visualize how they look while completing a golf swing or an aerobic exercise, as well as understand how their posture might be impacting their success on the course or in the gym. There’s also customizable coaching and analysis software that allows a coach to draw on the video or leave audible feedback for the user, making use of the smart shoe more of a person-to-person experience. Two videos can be viewed side-by-side to contrast a good golf swing with a poor one, as well.
Fashionable athletes shouldn’t worry about having to wear clunky technology on their feet, either: IOFIT’s creators said they were concerned with making sure the smart shoe had a sleek design that users would be “proud” to wear in public. As a result, the appearance of the IOFIT at first glance is very similar to the aesthetic of the typical athletic shoe.
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