Technology innovation is often driven by demand. Rehabilitation from sports injuries is long and arduous. Thus, III has
developed Smart Footwear Platform, SaFePlay " so that rehabilitation is not hindered by limits in space and equipment;
the platform provides users with a motion monitoring assistant similar to traditional biomechanical measurement equipment
that can also help doctors monitor the status and rehabilitation progress of patients in real time.
Current solutions for measurements of
lower-limb movements rely on large-scale
stationary equipment during rehabilitation
follow-up. Patients are required to make
their way to the rehabilitation center and
take on the high costs of professional
therapists, site, and equipment. Smart
Footwear Platform, SaFePlay was developed
by III along with teams consisting of Professor
I-Ping Hung of the Graduate Institute of
Networking and Multimedia of National
Taiwan University, Dr. Rong-Sen Yang of
the Department of Orthopedic Surgery
of National Taiwan University Hospital,
Professor Jung-Tang Huang of the Graduate
Institute of Mechatronic Engineering of
National Taipei University of Technology,
and Professor Chun-Chung Chen of the
Department of Physical Therapy and Assistive
Technology of National Yang-Ming University.
SaFePlay goes beyond traditional restrictions by integrating wearable
devices, analysis of lower-limb biomechanics, and feedback technologies. It also connects smart, sensor-equipped insoles
and knee braces to apps specially dedicated for instantaneous upload onto cloud platforms. The system quickly analyzes
lower-limb biomechanical data, and integrated gaming designs to increase user willingness for rehabilitation.
SaFePlay provides a set of light yet highly operational sport and health assistive monitoring tools that can be adopted
to the rehabilitation sector as well as fitness and sports fields as assistive tools to be used for training by coaches or
healthcare professionals. It is able to continuously monitor biomechanical data and provide data on the users' lower limbs
during training and daily activities; this helps prevent injuries and improves performance. They can be used to provide
users with suggestions and feedback, and improve the fitness training services while maximizing performance with
scientific training method.
The Smart Footwear Platform (SaFePlay) was awarded the Red Dot Design Award in Germany in 2016. It was subsequently
lauded in 2017 when it received the Innovative E-Health Solutions Award from the World Information Technology and
Services Alliance, known as the “Olympics of the ICT world,” as well as the National Innovation Award in Research
Innovation Award, which aims to uncover domestic innovative and entrepreneurial technologies. SaFePlay also received
recognition as a finalist in the “Oscars of the technology world”—the R&D 100 Awards.
III is currently working with sports equipment, medical services, and hardware providers to introduce SaFePlay into
professional realms, where experts can promote technology related to healthcare and fitness groups. Its software and
hardware integration promotes data analysis services and marks an upgrade in manufacturing. We have established
partnerships with domestic sports industries and we aim to jointly develop sports technologies and smart applications
and products. Furthermore, the technology platform can also be used in additional applications and promotion in
entertainment & leisure and healthcare & social services to create a more mature market for wearable applications.