These AI-equipped insoles will give you real-time coaching while you run

There is literally nothing tech gurus can’t enhance with AI these days, it seems. We bet you didn’t wake up this morning thinking, “You know what would really improve my life? Some running insoles that could talk to me while I run and improve my training.” And yet, soon you’ll be able to get your hands… or rather, feet, on just such a product.

Startup Striv (pronounced “strive”) is gearing up to launch a Kickstarter campaign for its Smart Insoles later this month, calling them, “A 250+ sensor biomechanics lab underfoot, with an AI-powered running coach at your side.”

The insoles are equipped with an array of sensors to capture comprehensive data about your running gait and performance. It can relay the stats it gathers back you at the end of the run for you to analyze, or it can actually give you training hints, tips and suggestions in real time while you’re running, all via a smartphone app.

Each insole contains 256 textile pressure sensors, a high-precision inertial measurement unit (IMU) and a high-precision barometer. This sensor array allows the insoles to collect a wealth of data about foot pressure distribution, motion, and elevation changes during runs.

You just have to connect the insoles to the smartphone app via Bluetooth.

The video makes it all look very sci-fi, but the way it keeps saying the guy’s name, we’re really glad he’s not called Dave, because there’s a really unsettling HAL-from- 2001-A-Space-Odyssey vibe going on. But other than that, color us intrigued.

The technology was created by Striv, a startup whose founder, Axl Chen, gained access to the cutting-edge labs and fabrication equipment at MIT.nano as part of the START.nano accelerator program. But Striv emphasize, “We're not just researchers – we’re athletes at heart. With filed patents and years of research, our goal is to democratize professional-level coaching, bringing elite insights and personalized training to athletes of all levels.”

The Striv website also features some testimonials from test runners, including Tokyo 2020 US marathon runner Jake Wiley, who says, “Striv’s technology is not just another smart wearable; it’s a gamechanger unlike anything I’ve seen before. After testing the sensors and reviewing the data first hand, I’m convinced of its value.”

They’ll initially be priced at $199, but there’s a 40% off offer for early bird adopters.

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