Bright Idea: Boogio Takes a Leap

Make your shoes smart.

That is the tagline on Boogios marketing material. And smart here doesnt necessarily mean stylish.

Boogio (boogio.com) isnt selling footwear. Its selling a means of making shoes provide information that could enhance ones enjoyment of recreational activities or even save a life. Boogio is an insole sensor that captures body movements. Like other pieces of wearable tech, it can log activity, but it can also analyze movement and interface with a variety of applications to help athletes achieve better performance or help physicians detect changes in a persons gait.

The flagship product of Seattle-based REFLX Labs, Boogio is dedicated to the development and distribution of wearable sensors for a variety of entertainment, health and diagnostic applications. It is a spinout from Kent-based Qi2, a technology innovator that traces its origins to Flow Research.

REFLX Labs cofounder and CEO Jose Torres sees so many possibilities with this technology. Boogio incorporates a thin sensor ribbon under a shoes insole. The sensor attaches to a clip on the side of the shoe, which connects wirelessly to a mobile app. The data gathered are instantly readable, so a basketball coach can tell players what theyre doing right or wrong as they release, say, a jump shot. A doctor might use gait analysis to determine if a patient suffers neurological dysfunction. Video gamers could move their feet up and down, or side to side, to activate avatars.

It ultimately will be up to the consumer and business partners Boogio is actively courting to determine where Boogio goes first. Wireless virtual reality games seemed like an early contender. But Torres contends, The promise of this is in diagnostics.