The smart shoe with 253 sensors that seeks to prevent falls in older adults

The proposal seeks to take a gait analysis tool out of the laboratory and bring it to everyday use.

The prototype incorporates 253 tiny sensors connected to a specialized microchip. That system can read all the sensors at the same time and process the information in real time, allowing a detailed map of the user’s foot to be built.

From this data, it analyzes pressure points and gait patterns that could warn of a risk of falling.

The information is transmitted wirelessly to a mobile phonewithout the need to use complex medical equipment. This monitoring makes it possible to observe progress outside the hospital and in daily life situations.

In addition, the microchip consumes just 100 microwatts, a characteristic that gives the device an autonomy of up to three months without recharging.

Until now, gait analysis was mainly performed in clinical settings and with specialized equipment. The novelty of this development is that it integrates this capacity into a shoe for daily use.

The objective is to anticipate possible accidents, reduce injuries and hospitalizations, and help preserve the autonomy and quality of life of older people.

Falls in older adults appear as one of the most relevant problems for public health. Therefore, the project is not limited to measuring how a person walks: it aims to detect previous signs of instability to intervene before damage occurs.

The official presentation of the prototype took place on February 18 during the International Conference of Solid State Circuits 2026organized by the IEEE. According to the original note, it was also the only research led by a British scientist included in the ISSCC 2026 program.

The next step for the team will be subject the smart shoe to broader clinical evaluations. These tests will seek to validate its predictive capacity in different user profiles and in real everyday life situations.

At the same time, researchers will need to advance the design for large-scale production and define the final cost of the product.

The research also builds on previous work by Jiayang Li linked with sensors applied to lung function. That experience served as the basis for thinking about a system capable of accurately mapping gait.

If the next tests confirm its usefulness in daily lifethis smart shoe could help reduce the pressure on healthcare systems and hospitalizations caused by falls in older adults.