One of the main functions of the OpenGo Sensor Insoles is to measure the physical pressure applied to its surface in 16 distinct sensor locations. The sensors are located across all foot areas and allow for a plantar pressure mapping during walking, running, jumping, and virtually any other kind of motion.
The foot pressure provides valuable insights about the spatial distribution of the ground reaction force, and other measures are computed from it, in particular force and center of pressure (COP).
A realtime (“live”) inspection of the foot pressure distribution can be helpful for various purposes. It simply informs the user about the correct setup of the measurement system, confirms the proper zeroing of the pressure sensors, and can ultimately be used for providing biofeedback to the wearer of the sensor insoles.
Realtime foot pressure in the OpenGo App
The Record screen of the OpenGo App provides a pressure distribution widget, which shows the pressure data in real time as soon as both sensor insoles are connected via BLE.
The widget keeps being supplied with realtime pressure data even when a measurement is started, no matter if it is a Live Capture or (Smart) Recording. The widget will show the full foot pressure distribution even if the chosen measurement settings are limited to other data channels (e.g. total force only).
Realtime foot pressure in OpenGo Software
In the OpenGo Software (desktop PC or laptop), several widgets for displaying the realtime plantar pressure distribution are available when running a Live Capture measurement. In addition to the 2D pressure widget known from the OpenGo App, the OpenGo Software also provides widgets for a 3D visualization and for showing the per-sensor pressure values.
Furthermore, the widget can show the current COP and the COP trace, both visually configurable to your taste.
UDP based API for using pressure data
If the foot pressure distribution is required in real time outside of the OpenGo Software components, the OpenGo Software can forward the pressure values as UDP packets.
Have a look at the documentation of the OpenGo Software Record screen for further details.
SDK based processing of pressure data
The OpenGo SDKs are the most flexible way for obtaining the foot pressure as realtime data stream.
Depending on your use case,
- you can directly receive the pressure data stream from the sensor insoles (Insole SDK, Mobile SDK), or
- keep the OpenGo App in the loop for sensor insole control, and let it forward the pressure data to a custom software (Endpoint SDK).
