[CES 2020] Ecco's innovation laboratory works on multi-purpose smart health connected shoes

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Code name: Quant-U. This prototype of smart health connected shoes, designed by the Danish manufacturer Ecco’s innovation laboratory, could change everyday habits. Presented for the first time at the CES in Las Vegas, which was held from January 7 to 10, it is multi-use. Its promise: to improve working conditions or sports performance, in B2B, and deliver lifestyle and gaming functionalities, in B2C. Various use cases, made possible by real-time feedback from "unpublished data from foot contact with the ground". And the goal is also scientific, hoping to learn more about human activity.

FIRST APPLICATIONS IN HEALTH

 "While smart health connected watches concern the upper body, our shoes will allow us to analyze everything that happens below the hips", indicates to The Digital Factory Teo Pazanin, responsible for this research which mobilizes, in Amsterdam (Netherlands), 16 people of 11 nationalities. In fact, various sensors – acceleration, rotation, pressure, temperature, humidity, etc. – paint a picture of the situation at the level of the feet. A digital twin can thus be created. "This is an ecosystem, non-intrusive and smart health connected to the smartphone, which will also exist in the form of a device to clip on the shoes if we do not want to buy an additional pair", underlines Teo Pazanin.

The research, which began three years ago, will find its first application in health. A series of use cases is under study, such as the customization of soles to gain stability or the prevention of falls. Ultimately, the ambition is to give doctors access to all of the data. To do this, the company will need to obtain certification for the potential launch of a platform. "The interest is to finally link a condition to a specific activity to find adequate therapeutic solutions and limit the number of visits to the doctor", explains the research manager.

LIMIT ACCIDENTS AT WORK

For sport, the device would detect fatigue so as to reduce the risk of injury at any level of professionalism. "During testing, this personalization has improved the success rate of golf swings by 10%. It is believed, and it is not mistaken, that the market for data analysis in sport will grow by 50.7% by the 2024 Paris Olympics ", exposes Teo Pazanin, going in the direction of information published by The Digital Factory this summer.

At work, such smart shoes could also prove useful. Able to track user movements, they could, among other things, improve human-machine collaboration. "It's a safety issue, since accidents will be avoided and productivity will be improved (it is estimated that occupational incidents and illnesses are responsible for a loss of no less than 2.5% of world GDP, N.D.L.R.). The device will also serve as an authentication means to manage access to certain places ", illustrates the research manager, who believes that this will in fact lead to a reduction in operating costs.

MANY DAILY USE CASES

Several features are also designed for daily personal use. Advice will be distilled through analysis of the process, such as suggestions for shoe models or ways to better carry bags. Right foot-left foot balance, weight or level of fatigue will be displayed on a companion application – which remains to be created. The promising ehealth game market should also be addressed. "The shoes serve, in this case, as controllers", explains Teo Pazanin, giving the example of a car that could be accelerated using pedals.

Ecco’s innovation lab has worked with Dassault Systèmes for three years. It uses the 3DEXPERIENCE platform to host its services in the cloud and confer on its engineers "mobility and portability". Catia software allows you to "draw models of products like soles". The Quant-U shoes and clip have not yet been released for release. The sensors are nevertheless ready … and tests in real conditions will multiply.

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