A Bristol entrepreneur who has developed 'smart socks' that are able to track rising distress in the wearer is hoping to improve the wellbeing of millions of people with his invention.
Dr Zeke Steer quit his job and took a PhD at Bristol Robotics Laboratory, which is jointly run by the University of Bristol and UWE Bristol, so he could find a way to help people with dementia, non-verbal autism and other conditions that affect communication.
His Milbotix smart socks track heart rate, sweat levels and motion to give insights on the wearer’s wellbeing, including how anxious the person is feeling. According to Dr Steer, they look and feel like normal socks, do not need charging, are machine washable and provide a steady stream of data to carers, who can easily see their patient’s metrics on an app.
