System And Insole For Measuring Information From The Foot Of A User And Related Method Of Providing Same

A system for measuring information from the foot of a user, the system comprising:

• an insole comprising:
• a first protective cover configured to be a first outer layer of the insole;
• a first grounding layer, a top surface of the first grounding layer is physically coupled to a bottom surface of the first protective cover;
• a first compressible insulating layer, a top surface of the first compressible insulating layer is physically coupled to a bottom surface of the first grounding layer;
• a sensor layer comprising a heel sensor and a ball sensor, a top surface of the sensor layer is physically coupled to a bottom surface of the first compressible insulating layer;
• a second compressible insulating layer, a top surface of the second compressible insulating layer is physically coupled to a bottom surface of the sensor layer;
• a second grounding layer, a top surface of the second grounding layer is physically coupled to a bottom surface of second compressible insulating layer, the second grounding layer is electrically coupled to the first grounding layer such that the first grounding layer and the second grounding layer substantially electrically isolate the insole from the shoe and the foot of the user;
• and
• a second protective cover, a top surface of the second protective cover is physically coupled a bottom surface of the second grounding layer and further configured to be a second outer layer of the insole;
• and
• at least one computational unit communicatively coupled to the heel sensor and the ball sensor,
• wherein:
• the first grounding layer, the second grounding layer and the sensor layer are electrically coupled to form a three-layer capacitor and the ball sensor and the heel sensor are configured to measure changes in capacitance between at least two of the first grounding layer, the second grounding layer and the sensor layer when a force is applied to the insole;
• and
• the at least one computational unit is configured to determine a magnitude of the force applied to the insole using at least the changes in the capacitance between the at least two of the first grounding layer, the second grounding layer and the sensor layer.

A method of providing an insole for a shoe, the insole configured to be placed in the shoe and the shoe is configured to be placed on a foot of a user, the method comprising:

• providing an upper conductive ground plane layer;
• providing an upper compressible insulating layer;
• physically coupling the upper compressible insulating layer to the upper conductive ground plane layer;
• providing a conductive sensor layer, the conductive sensor layer comprises one or more sensors are configured to measure a force applied to the insole;
• physically coupling the upper compressible insulating layer to conductive sensor layer;
• providing a lower compressible insulating layer;
• physically coupling the lower compressible insulating layer to conductive sensor layer;
• providing a lower conductive ground plane layer;
• physically coupling the lower conductive ground plane layer to the upper conductive ground plane layer;
• electrically coupling the lower conductive ground plane layer to the upper conductive ground plane layer such that the upper conductive ground plane layer and the lower conductive ground plane layer are configured to substantially electrically shield the upper compressible insulating layer, the conductive sensor layer, and the lower compressible insulating layer from the shoe and the foot of the user;
• and
• providing at least one computational unit communicatively coupled to the one or more sensors,
• wherein:
• the one or more sensors are configured to measure at least one of a first change in a first distance between the upper conductive ground plane layer and the one or more sensors or a second change in a second distance between the lower conductive ground plane layer and the one or more sensors;
• and
• the at least one computational unit is configured to determine a force applied to the insole using at least one of the first change in the first distance or the second change in the second distance.