Reduce Falls With Motorised Shoes

Researchers at Strathclyde University are teaming up to help older people keep their balance and move better. Motorised shoes is the newest manifestation of this effort under the SMILING (Self Mobility Improvement in the Elderly by Counteracting Falls) project.

The premise of the research is that older people who use the shoes can relearn how to walk by responding to the conditions the shoes create beneath their feet.

Specifically, the technology works by mean of four motors inside the shoes. They change the balance of the user with every step. Users must then actively respond to these changes.

David Carus was the technical lead on the shoe project. Computational fluid dynamics were used to find the perfect balance between size and force.

According to an article in the Engineer, the technology is still in its infancy, having been tested by means of four prototypes in Italy, Switzerland, Israel and Slovakia.

The results are promising, but not yet conclusive. Mr Carus said: “We’re hoping to improve the shoe by reducing its size and weight, and carry out larger trials in the future.”

The project could prove beneficial to the up to one in three over-65s who suffer a fall each year. The health costs related to these falls come to about £4.6m per day.

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