At its core, running is one of the simplest sports for anyone to participate in. The equipment is relatively basic, and you can do it basically anywhere in the world in different capacities. Of course, running at a world-class level takes a large scale commitment and tools needed to improve your performance, but running’s overall simplicity to the consumer at large is why it is so widely participated and enjoyed by many.
This simplicity for the everyday consumer though could be change with the announcement that Sensoria and VIVOBAREFOOT have announced a partnership to bring technology and science to improve how you run. Sensoria is a company specializing in wearable smart technology, and VIVOBAREFOOT is a producer of barefoot shoes. In their collaboration they will utilize the Sensoria Core technology into its new running shoe, and the data that will come from this collaboration is fairly compelling.
According to Harvard professor Daniel Lieberman, the act of running generates unnatural forces that have similar impact forces as being by a sledgehammer under your foot. In an everyday run, this motion and impact can happen thousands of times over and can lead to injury and stress on the foot caused by the repeated impacts. The new shoe with these two companies is looking to combat this issue and bring awareness to the runner through data in hopes that future running techniques can bring less impact to the runner’s limbs.
“The new VIVOBAREFOOT, powered by Sensoria smart shoe leverages our new microelectronics and is able to monitor – in real-time – speed, pace, cadence, GPS track, foot landing technique, time on the ground, impact score and eventually, asymmetry and toe engagement. These are all important metrics to monitor natural running and reduce risk of injury,” Davide Vigano, co-founder and CEO of Sensoria, said in a statement. “Sensoria Core helps the industry and academic researchers around the world learn more about how to improve running form. We are excited to partner with VIVOBAREFOOT to help people run faster, farther and healthier.”
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A key component of the shoe will be the Sensoria Core, which is a part of the Sensoria Development kit. This technology enables sports apparel and footwear produced by the company to harness fitness data in Sensoria’s smart garment’s for improved health and fitness performance. The Sensoria Core is connected in the shoe to four pressure sensors at the plantar area of the shoe that detects metrics like impact score and foot landing with precision to measure the movements in great detail. When users finish their run, they get a running training plan that provides feedback based on the data readings. All this data is communicated through the Sensoria Run 2.0 app.
“The state of natural movement in the West has been undermined by padded shoes and chairs. Most people can’t even stand with their big toes actively engaged on the ground (impossible in conventional footwear), let alone walk or run. This exciting shoe helps educate the transition back to strong feet and pain free movement,” Galahad Clark, CEO and founder of VIVOBAREFOOT, said in a statement. “Through our partnership with Sensoria, we are now able to provide real time transition advice to our customers and the visual proof of the incredible sensory feedback loop between your feet and your brain. With the Internet of Me quickly redefining what consumers are looking for in a product, we are extremely proud to provide a system that offers quality biometric data to help researchers, coaches, everyday runners and athletes identify and correct poor habits.”
This new smart shoe made its debut at CES in Las Vegas and will be available to consumers later in 2017. For the 99.9 percent of runners that do not have their own coaches, this new smart footwear could be a major boost to improving their running and preventing the injuries that plague many runners all over the world. While running’s appeal for simplicity has long been to its benefit, it looks like the sport could be soon getting a little more complex with a boost to performance technology.