Source: Boltt
Will smart shoes and AI take wearables to a new level?
Makers of wearable tech for consumers are zeroing in on fitness. FitBit identified the opportunity early on. Apple, with its second-generation smartwatch, is clearly intent on driving sales by competing for share of the market. And yet, while the attention of wearables marketers has been concentrated on the wrists of users, a new “smart” shoe is promising to revolutionize the market.
Boltt, a startup out of India, is getting set to launch a new sneaker that combines sensors with artificial intelligence (AI) software designed to improve running and fitness levels by providing wearers with real time feedback.
Boltt unveiled a variety of new products at TechCrunch’s Silicon Valley Disrupt event this week, including the aforementioned smart shoes, as well as bands, a shoe pod sensor and wireless headsets. The company seeks to marry the data received from the devices with its AI Health Coach to provide wearers with the information they need to up their games, so-to-speak.
The company’s founder and CEO, Arnav Kishore, told NDTV, “Till now, all activity trackers and wearables gave data. We are conspiring to change that by inferring this data and giving it a meaning.”
According to Statista, nearly 61 million people went jogging or running in the U.S. in the spring of 2015, up from roughly 46 million who did the same in spring of 2008.
Boltt partnered with Garmin for its expertise in wearable sensors in its project development. The company plans to begin taking pre-orders in October to be followed by a launch in 13 countries in November.
Discussion Questions
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Is the fitness market the key to widespread adoption of wearables in the U.S.? Do you see the combination of smart shoes and AI as a means to take wearables to a new level?
Poll
BrainTrust
Bob Amster
Principal, Retail Technology Group
Mohamed Amer, PhD
Independent Board Member, Investor and Startup Advisor
Smart shoes will take those whose activity is to walk or run to new but non-professional levels. Professional or Olympic runners are already taking advantage of sophisticated technology that includes thorough analysis of motion and breathing over time. For the individual or amateur, smart shoes hold the promise of bringing them up at least one notch in the race.
The fitness market provides a ready-made environment for the spread of wearable technology and AI. This movement goes well beyond smart shoes and companies such as Under Armour have made this connected fitness a cornerstone of their strategy.
Five years from now, we will be wondering how we lived without clothing that can anticipate a heart attack, detect metabolic imbalance through your sweat or provide feedback on your tennis stroke.
Wearables have to provide compelling value to consumers with the utmost convenience. Few people still wear Bluetooth earphones (that may change with iPhone 7). Smartwatches haven’t significantly penetrated the overall watch market … yet. When the convenience of wearables, of any type and function, outweighs the inconvenience (having to also carry a smartphone, having to recharge batteries with heavy use, etc.), widespread adoption will happen.
Smart shoes are a start to worthy wearables but we should not expect the same kind of traction in the human/information interface from shoes as will be available in eyewear and audio that enable efficiency and success as we go about the non-exercise part of our day. Performance improvements to relationships, decision-making and recuperating will drive wearable technologies.
Fitness offers so much opportunity making it a great place to start. I was reading recently about a fabric that can sense how the body is positioned to make sure exercises are being done correctly. I would bet the cost of the outfit would be too great for the regular consumer but it’s an interesting idea.
For my 2 cents.
Fitness is a perfect place to start — many of us have been trying to monitor our activity manually. Smart devices and the accuracy and automaton they bring are a benefit for consumers.