Yep, you read the right, GPS-enabled insoles for your shoes. Very interesting concept when you stop to consider the potential benefits of such technology in healthcare, i.e. think Alzheimer’s for one, although the use cases are expansive.
Up until a couple of weeks ago I had never heard of the GPS SmartSole, but apparently they’ve been around for a while. According to the company website – GTX Corp – the product has been around since 2008. Who knew?
The technology gives users the ability to track individual’s location via any smartphone, tablet, or other web-enabled device. Caregivers can even configure the system to send text and email alerts when the user leaves a designated area. Of course it only works if the user is wearing their shoes.
The insoles provide real-time GPS data, remote monitoring, and last up to 5 days on a single chart. Pretty cool stuff.
There are two versions of the SmatSole technology, a Bluetooth Low Envergy (BLE) version and a GPS/Cellular Embedded version. There are significant difference between the two, which can be summarized in the table below taken from one of the company’s brochures. It all depends on your needs.
You can find detailed information on the BLE version here [PDF], and the GPS /Cellular Embedded version here [PDF].
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