Ultra-Low-Power Chip Monitors Hundreds of Pressure Points to Drive a Smart, Gait-Tracking Shoe

Researchers from the University of Bristol, University College London, and New York University Abu Dhabi have developed a low-power gadget designed to turn a shoe into an always-on data-gathering powerhouse — inspired by a desire to help investigate a mentor's unsteadiness while walking.

"[My mentor] Peter has been a huge champion of my work since I started my PhD and it’s amazing that he still meticulously edits the research papers of my research group even at the age of 89," Jiayang Li explains of the project's inspiration. "His mind remains extremely sharp and his dedication is so inspiring. One day I noticed he was unsteady on his feet and almost lost his balance. It got me thinking this is very risky and could have terrible consequences if it resulted in a fall, especially for people who live alone. Then I wondered if the semiconductor technology we're working on might actually be able to help."

Li's team set about developing a way to monitor someone's gait without discomfort, without invasive wearable devices, and without needing to plug anything in to charge every night. Building on previous work on sensors designed to monitor breathing restrictions, Li and colleagues set about developing a device that sits in a shoe and measures 253 points of contact via piezo-resistive sensors to create a pressure map and determine whether the user's balance is off.

"The power of the microchip is just 100 microwatts, so the device could run for around three months before it needs recharging," Li says. "Fall prevention is a huge challenge for ageing populations, so the potential to anticipate and avoid that happening with our invention is really exciting. When I explained the concept to Peter, he was really touched and is pleased it might one day be manufactured and used to help so many people.

"The concept could easily be mass produced, creating a low-cost shoe sole which could transform older people's lives. Next, we'll run a formal clinical evaluation with a larger and more diverse group to validate how well it predicts fall risk, refine the analysis provided by the device it's connected to, and work with clinical and industry partners to translate it into a scalable product."

The team presented its work at the 2026 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC '26) this week, with a preprint available on Cornell's arXiv server under open-access terms.