
How It Works
Up & Running Shoes is a self-powered shoe powered using piezoelectric transducers and a Peltier tile through a rechargeable battery, that transmits information such as steps taken, distance moved, calories burned, intensity, temperature, humidity, and a foot map to assess foot motion, to a Bluetooth-compatible device, processed through a microcontroller using a Bluetooth Low Energy transmitter.
​
Basically, when you take a step, all your weight goes to the soles of your shoes. That weight deforms the piezoelectric transducers which convert mechanical stress into electrical energy. The Peltier tile uses the Seebeck effect which is the conversion of a temperature difference into electrical energy. So when your environment is at least 5 degrees Celsius colder than your body temperature, you will be generating electrical energy. That energy goes through our power management circuit which makes it usable for our microcontroller, which in turn transmits that information via Bluetooth to the app on your smartphone or Bluetooth-compatible device.