Abstract

Sensor-embedded shoes, called smart shoes, have been developed for the use in gait monitoring systems. In the gait monitoring systems, ground contact forces (GCFs) are the basic information for detecting gait phases. For the smart shoes to measure the GCFs, air bladders are installed in the insole of the shoe, pressure changes of which are measured by air pressure sensors. In addition to the smart shoes, smart socks are introduced to obtain complementary information related to the posture of a foot. For the minimal discomfort, conductive polymer sensors are printed on the socks around the joints in a foot. The deformation of the conductive polymer sensors results in a change in resistance, which is related to the posture of the foot, e.g., the flexion-extension and inversion-eversion. The combination of smart shoes and smart socks enable the full monitoring of 3-D foot motions and walking patterns.