Assessing Factors Influencing the Reliability of Smart Insole Measurements

Smart insoles are widely used in Human Activity Recognition research, in areas such as health and sport. The majority of smart insole research so far has tended to focus on the intellectual frontier of what is possible, and less on how to turn that into reliable, market ready products. This paper looks at the reliability of smart insole measurements. It describes experiments that illustrate some of the limitations on the accuracy and robustness of smart insole measurements. In particular, it highlights that any application that depends on the magnitude or pattern of pressure or inertial sensor measurements across sessions and between different subjects will be highly dependent on consistent and accurate fitting of the smart insoles. Smart insoles have strengths and weaknesses, and this paper gives examples of applications which play to smart insoles’ strengths, as well as those where greater care needs to be taken to work around the weaknesses.