The ones who grew tired of the Nike+ Fuelband or other such similar gadgets might be interested in wearing the Sensoria Smart Sock. Its components aren’t visible to the naked eye, and its negligible weight makes wearers forget about the gadget.
When thinking about wearable tech, Google Glass and smartwatches are probably the first devices to pop into mind. Nobody seems to take smart socks into consideration. Heapsylon, the company who developed the Sensoria Smart Sock must think otherwise, though.
The gadget packs soft textile sensors that track foot falls and hence workouts in real time. While the socks of the future might be able to do such things passively, this version still relies on a magnetic ankle bracelet.
The anklet supplies the necessary power and presumably includes an accelerometer that provides additional information.
A smartphone app would also be needed for reading the stats in real time.
Heapsylon co-founder Davide Vigano stated: “In the near future the garment will become the computer. Very soon we won’t need to carry with us any additional electronic device because the technology will disappear to the human eye, it will be comfortable and easy to remember. It will be built into our clothes.”
In this context, I will have to ask: Mr Vigano, why not make a smart sports shoe? That way people wouldn’t have to carry electronics around their ankle anymore, as all the tech would be embedded in the sole. We definitely have the means nowadays of integrating light-weight circuits into footwear. I’d go even further and suggest that the smartphone could be left at home if the shoes were somehow able to communicate wirelessly, or if they were to post the workout stats directly to the cloud.
Sensoria Smart Sock is currently featured on Indiegogo, where its developers hope to raise the funds needed for mass producing the device. At press time, there were 19 more days to go and the backers had already provided $67,000 out of the $87,000, so don’t be surprised if people around you start using smart socks, as these have great chances of becoming a reality. Getting three pairs of smart socks would cost backers $60, but the addition of the smart anklet pushes the price a bit higher.
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