Accidents are not the result of mere ignorance or carelessness but chances are they may happen with your growing age when it becomes difficult to have a control on your body stability. If figures do make a difference to you then here you go. Around 300,000 hip fractures have been witnessed per year plus 24% over 50 die within one year with a reasonable cause of balance instability. Also, for astronauts who are still young may become prone to this illness (thanks to frothiness of space). Realizing this, iShoe concept has been devised by Erez Lieberman, a graduate from Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. He claims that iShoe has a potential to enter into the kit of doctors and would be a must-pick by NASA scientists to notice steadiness troubles before a fall transpires. At present, the iShoe is only restricted to spot balance concerns, but Lieberman posits that futuristic editions (iShoe 3G) will vigorously rectify bad balance with sensory stimulus.

The spark of life was injected into the iShoe prototype during an experiment conducted by Lieberman as a part of his internship at NASA. The iShoe crew developed a new algorithm that is competent of analyzing the weight distribution of proprioceptors (sensory receptors) on the feet and the significance of the data. During a family tragedy, Lieberman’s iShoe disclosed corollary ahead of just a few drunken astronauts. The device’s super-sensitive insole enabled doctors measure the pressure of the foot of Lieberman’s grandmother and produced a report, which was of much help to the doctor and in crisis situation; the integrated alarm can alert family about the upcoming fall.
Via Gizmodo / WebMit

Truly, this is not the first device designed to help elderly or crippled walk unaided, but for sure amongst all, this one is really compact and user friendly so far. Developed by Honda, the walking assist device would be demonstrated at the International Trade Fair on Barrier Free Equipments & Rehabilitation in Osaka. The team at Honda is being working over this for past nine years.

After undergoing the processing since 1999, the device has now reached the viability phase and prospective customers are invited to get the first-hand feel. I wish I could also experience that. It’s no shocker that Honda’s ASIMO humanoid robot contributed significantly in making this device possible. The data acquired from hip angle sensors is used by the control CPU to converse the flat brush less motors and offer the needful assistance to enable those using the device elongate their tread. Weighing 6.2lbs, the device can easily be wrapped around the waist and thigh. It comes with a battery life of 2 hours if used at 4.5km/hour.
 
Via | Crunch Gear / Honda