Development of a Totally Embedded Smart Insole

Abstract

Athletes’ gait should be meticulously analyzed in order to let them get the best performance while practicing and rehearsal. In this research, a previously introduced smart insole has been developed and redesigned in order to make it more efficient and versatile. Unlike the previous version, the new version is totally wireless and subtle. This insole is equipped with different sets of electronics which let it acquire various gait parameters and further on use them for analyzing a person’s gait. Force sensors and IMU unit are the most important data acquisition units which are of high importance in analyzing a person’s motion behavior. All required electronics are embedded inside the insole making it a sealed and compact gait measurement unit.

Flexible, Piezoelectric Aluminum-Doped Zinc Oxide Energy Harvesters with Printed Electrodes for Wearable Applications

“…One of the most important aspects of EH design is the choice of piezoelectric material as it affects its energy conversion efficiency. Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) [68,69], zinc oxide (ZnO) [70,71] and aluminum nitride (AlN) [72,73] are some of the piezoelectric thin films that are commonly used for EH application. The choice of piezoelectric material highly depends on its capability to generate high output power.…”

“…The current trend of using wearables for monitoring the number of steps in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle makes this application very suitable [69][70][71][72]. In addition to the basic step counter, wearables can also be used to track other physical activities such as running, sprinting, in which data such as speed, acceleration, pressure will benefit advanced users such as athletes and the coaches [73][74][75]. Having a self-sustainable power source like an energy harvester will provide increased benefits for the user such as longer battery life and reduced necessity of charging.…”

Semiactive Knee Orthotic Using a MR Damper and a Smart Insole to Control the Damping Force Sensing the Plantar Pressure

“…In the work published by Ngueleu et al ( 2019 ), FSR sensors distributed over the sole of the foot are used to accurately count the user's steps. The advantage of this type of system is the portability and the ability to generate an analysis of the gait cycle, as in the work developed by Tabrizi et al ( 2018 ), wherein the development of an intelligent insole incorporating FSR sensors, a Bluetooth module, a battery, an accelerometer, as well as a microprocessor, to detect force peaks depending on the area of the foot that makes contact with the ground. In a similar way in Fang et al ( 2017 ), an insole composed of eight FSR sensors distributed mainly in the forefoot, midfoot, and heel is presented, with this configuration a graph relating the force with which the sole of the foot contacts the ground is obtained.…”