In order to prevent accidents and falls caused by poor visibility in the future, Elten has developed some smart shoes with the experts in wearables from VRaktion that alert the wearer to possible tripping points. Lasers embedded in the shoes identify obstacles in front of and behind the wearer and emit an appropriate warning signal. The sensors can not only detect obstacles, but also measure how far away they are. For example, workers carrying crates are warned whenever they approach an obstacle. Even in dark spaces, such as in sewerage systems or in smoky buildings during firefighting operations, the sensor signals obstacles that cannot be seen due to external conditions. This prevents falls caused by restricted visibility.
The wearer is alerted by means of the vibration alarm on his or her smartphone or smartwatch. The respective terminal thereby functions like a hub or server. A Bluetooth chip is built into the shoes, establishing a connection with the wearer’s mobile device. The shoes can thus also be connected to smartwatches or even AR glasses. The Bluetooth chips in the shoes can be linked to each other too. If several people wearing the shoes are walking around in the same building, they can tell where all the other shoes are. This enables firefighters, for example, to track down their colleagues in an emergency. Built-in LEDs can also be used to illuminate a route. The shoes can therefore be used as a flashlight too, if need be. As a result, workers can see where they are going even in the dark without having to hold a flashlight in their hands. To ensure that the smart work shoes can also be used reliably in harsh environments, without the components being damaged by mud or dirt, rugged connectors from the Fischer Freedom™ Series are relied upon for connectivity.
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More details in our case study “Robust connectivity for smart shoes”