Sensoria Inc., a company that produces smart athletic gear, has recently won the “Best New Wearable Technology Device” for their smart socks. The group that awarded the prize, the Printed Electronics Awards, looked for company innovation, success and development for the criteria.
The award was presented at the 2015 IDTechEX Printed Electronics USA show in Santa Clara, CA. It is the largest printed electronics and sensor event in the world. The smart socks were selected and awarded as the winner by a panel of judges that consisted of Dr. Mounir Zok, Senior Sports Technologist with the US Olympic Committee, Matthew Drinkwater, the Head of Fashion Innovation Agency at the London College of Fashion, and Henri Richard, the Senior VP of Sandisk Corporation.
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Sensoria Inc., spent four years of research and development to make the textile sensor infused smart socks comfortable yet functional. The smart sock is infused with three thin, soft textile pressure sensors. There is a snap on magnetic Bluetooth smart electronic anklet that collects data and then transmits it wirelessly to Sensoria’s mobile app and website. With it runners will receive real-time visual and audio feedback, as well as a post-workout analysis. Together, the sock and anklet provides users data to improve their performance.
“It’s such an incredible honor to be chosen for this award and especially by such an esteemed group of industry leaders,” commented the CEO of Sensoria Inc., Davide Vigano. “The smart socks can be combined with Sensoria’s upper body garments to work seamlessly together as a truly wearable system for runners. The smart sports bra and t-shirt feature integrated heart rate monitoring capability without the hassle of a chest strap.”
While wearing the garment, users receive real-time feedback on health and fitness that is a natural element to their routine. “Our vision is for wearable to not feel extraneous but more like sports apparel, and no one would be the wider that you are actually wearing an loT device,” said Vigano. “The smart socks are an early manifestation of that goal. They are machine washable, transparent mini-computers collecting data that has never been easily available before.”
Now that Sensoria Inc. is providing users the chance to gain immediate feedback on their running performance, other wearables will be developed to give other athletes insight. “The technology we created during that process has many potential applications in the sports, fitness, and medical world,” Vigano added. It is a gateway for other sports to give evaluations of their athlete’s performance.