Smart shoes prevents seniors’ falls and saves lives

Some AI-powered shoes may prove to be smarter than others, especially when it comes to saving lives. A few of this new machine-wired footwear are usually marketed to people who want to become or remain fit. A case in point is the Boltt’s sports shoes that are linked to wearables. According to The News Minute, a pair of this particular smart shoes lets its users know the quality of the level of physical activity he just performed, and how it will impact his health.

But the Israeli company B-Shoe Technologies is providing not just data and information, but the facilities to improve one’s balance during a walk and other kinds of movement. And, as per the report of TechCrunch, it is targeting as its main market the elderly who are prone to falling.

The statistics in the U.S. alone about how the senior members of our society are prone to slipping and injuring themselves are alarming. The Daily News cites some of them from the U.S. Centers for Disease and Prevention as well as the Osteoporosis Foundation: a fall remains the leading cause of death among the aging. About 30 percent of seniors aged 65 and above usually succumb to an imbalance and hurt themselves. The number goes up to more than 50 percent in the 75-year-old and above bracket.

With the aid of a microprocessor, motion device, pressure sensor, and software, the smart shoes can detect any sense of faltering and correct the balance and step of the elderly. (Source)

B-Shoes offers a preventive measure that will not only alert the senior person about a possible fall should they miss a step, lose their balance, or weaken a muscle while walking. The combination of a microprocessor, motion device, pressure sensor, and software will sense any sense of faltering and automatically correct the balance and step of the senior by activating a mini-treadmill device inbuilt into the shoe.

While the initial tests are promising, B-Shoes Technologies say that the shoes are still in its initial stages. Mass production will happen in two years’ time. That moment cannot happen soon enough for the elderly especially those in the U.S. – one of them in that country literally slips and falls every second.