Tracking Your Steps

Photo Credit TechCrunch

The following is part two of the article we posted on Tuesday for those who like to think on their feet and we have had a positive response to the article we wanted to make it a two part story.

Enjoy the article:

TechCrunch.com’s Natasha Lomas went running in Sensoria smart socks and explained the technology. 

She reports that “Sensoria’s wearable device consists of a pair of socks, containing its ‘e-textile technology.” She describes textile technology as “basically … pressure sensors [that] can figure out which bits of your foot are taking the weight as you run.”

Lomas adds that the socks also have a “clip-on Bluetooth 4.0 device that also contains an accelerometer and altimeter, and attaches to the ankle of the sock via magnets.” 

You can detach the accelerometer and altimeter when you wash your smart socks.

Sensoria smart socks can also detect when the wearer has been inactive for some time. Lomas reports that when the socks haven’t counted any steps in a specific period, they assume that you are sitting and send an alert so that you can take a break from the screen.

In 2017, Sensoria announced that it had developed a new version of its socks: Sock 2.0. Michael Sawh of Wareable.com reports that the new version is “Made from antibacterial, anti-blistering and sweat-wicking material, [and] the new smart socks are apparently two times lighter than the first version, while the improved pressure sensors are now better protected from sweat and water.”

No More Missing Socks

We all know how it feels when you have ten socks in the drawer, but you can’t find an identical pair. 

Well, it looks like this problem will soon be a story of the past as companies are introducing technology that can help you locate missing socks.

The company behind the technology that allows your socks to speak to your phone is BlackSocks from Switzerland.

But what does the technology do exactly? According to BlackSocks, quite a lot, including telling you:

• How to sort out your socks by showing you which ones belong together.
• How often you have washed your socks.
• When your socks were produced.
• When you ordered your socks.
• When your socks were dispatched.

Your iPhone can also tell you when your socks are too old, and you need to get new ones.

Odditycentral.com reviewed the smart socks from BlackSocks and reports that “this system involves Radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips on the socks, a handheld device that decodes the info on these chips, as well as a dedicated app for your smartphone.”

The Future of Smart Socks

If the technology we present above is impressive, we may only be seeing the beginning of what’s coming down the road. 

The increasing interest by a wide range of companies to invest in smart socks shows that this is not a passing fad but a technology that will define the future, particularly in the health and wellness sector.

An article published by the journal Flexible Electronics predicts that socks will also become a part of deep learning, the Internet of Things (IoT), and virtual reality applications. 

These applications could collect information about gait, which, among other purposes, informs medical professionals if something is wrong with a specific individual.