Wearables are a trend that everyone seems to want a piece of, but instead of giving us another watch or a Google Glass competitor, 3L Labs is going an entirely different route. The company is showing off its FootLogger insole this week at CES, and it has a few features that will likely get some heads to turn. The insole has been outfitted with Bluetooth 2.1 along with eight pressure sensors and one three-axis accelerometer. 3L Labs’ goal with the FootLogger is to collect information on the way you walk in attempt to improve your walking posture or monitor things like therapy progress.
Essentially, you can consider Footlogger as something of a pedometer on steroids. Each insole comes with flash memory that can keep track of up to 50,000 steps, and one charge is enough to see you through about 24 hours. The insole’s Bluetooth functionality comes into play at the end of the day, when you place your shoes on FootLogger’s wireless dock. The dock uses Bluetooth to pull the data from the insert’s memory, then transmits it over WiFi to 3L’s servers. You’ll be able to view the data that was collected through a special companion app, which gives you an overall snapshot of your walking prowess.
Aside from telling you how many calories you burn and how many steps you’re talking on a daily basis, 3L Labs says FootLogger has plenty of other applications. As mentioned above, FootLogger can be used to track progress in a rehabilitation program, but it can also supposedly asses early signs of dementia and fall risks for older users. It can be used to track weight distribution in athletes, while regular users can view things like the size of their stride and their foot placement while walking or jogging. In simple terms, 3L Labs claims there’s a lot to be learned by taking an in depth look at someone’s daily walking or running habits, and FootLogger is a tool aimed at doing just that.
3L says that FootLogger should be available in the second half of the year. The price for one insole will be set at $100, which means you’ll have to lay down $200 if you want one for each of your shoes. There will also be varying tiers of accessories for the device (such as the aforementioned docking station and charger), but we’re not sure what kind of price point 3L is considering for those just yet. Does FootLogger sound like something you’re interested in trying out?