When we think of wearable technologies, ballet shoes aren’t the first devices that come to mind. In fact, the E-Traces pointé shoes by [Lesia Trubat] may be the first ever “connected ballet shoe.” This project captures the movement and pressure of the dancer’s feet and provides this data to a phone over Bluetooth.
The shoes are based on the Lilypad Arduino clone, which is designed for sewing into wearables. It appears that 3 force sensitive resistors are used as analog pressure sensors, measuring the force applied on the ground by the dancer’s feet. A Lilypad Accelerometer measures the acceleration of the feet.
This data is combined in an app running on an iPhone, which allows the dancer to “draw” patterns based on their dance movements. This creates a video of the motion based on the dance performed, and also collects data that can be used to analyze the dance movements after the fact.
While these shoes are focused on ballet, [Lesia] points out that the same technique could be extended to other forms of dance for both training and visualization purposes.
Technology used in an area where you could think you’d never encounter such tech.
Impressive!
Are these “E-traces” the same process as what is sometimes used in the BBC “Horizon” TV-series, where speakers use a long stick to draw 3D graphes out of thin air?
Hook up a pair of tap shoes wirelessly to an amp, so you don’t have to point microphones at the floor. Hook them up to a synthesizer to tap different sounds.
Or hook them up to a radio and dance out morse code messages. :)
Vicky: I’m sorry Lisa but giving everyone an equal part when they’re clearly not equal is called what again class?
The Class: Communism.
Vicky: That’s right. And I didn’t tap all those Morse code messages to the allies ’till my shoes filled with blood just to roll out the welcome mat for the reds.
At first glance in the e-mail I read Visualizing bullet movements.