A New Smart Shoe Powered By Footsteps Could One Day Help Monitor Everything From Parkinson’s to Fall Risk
Learn about the newest innovation in wearable tech — a smart shoe with an internal AI system that runs on footsteps, not batteries.
Researchers at Rutgers University have developed a prototype smart shoe that generates electricity from footsteps, eliminating the need for a battery. The shoe, described in Science Advances, utilizes the triboelectric effect to convert the pressure and friction of walking into usable energy. Inside the shoe's sole, a device generates electricity through the mechanical forces of walking, which is then harnessed through a power-management circuit to increase the available energy by up to 120 times.
The shoe's onboard artificial intelligence analyzes foot movement with an accelerometer, identifying different activities like walking, running, or stair climbing. This "edge AI" approach reduces the need for continuous data transmission to external devices, as all analysis occurs within the shoe itself. The shoe's system, which consumes only 86 microwatts of power, could potentially help monitor health conditions by tracking changes in a person's gait over time.
This development demonstrates the possibility of using footsteps as a power source for wearable devices that monitor various health metrics, including monitoring Parkinson's disease, fall risk, or the progression of neurological disorders.
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