My project is a low-cost smart insole designed to analyze how people walk outside of specialized gait laboratories. I decided to make it because most gait analysis systems are expensive, bulky, and inaccessible for continuous monitoring, limiting their use in rehabilitation, podiatry, and movement disorder research.

The system uses a custom microcontroller-based PCB embedded in an insole. An inertial measurement unit (IMU) measures acceleration and rotational motion of the foot, while piezoelectric sensors placed at the heel and forefoot detect impact forces during walking. The microcontroller collects and processes this data to identify key gait events such as heel strike and toe-off, calculate step cadence, and characterize walking patterns. By combining motion and force measurements, the device provides detailed gait information at a fraction of the cost of traditional laboratory equipment, making gait assessment more accessible to clinicians, researchers, and patients.