LoRa Evaluation in Mobility Conditions for a Connected Smart Shoe Measuring Physical Activity

A strong and positive association between increased levels of physical activity, exercise participation and improved health in older adults emerges from research studies. It is consequently relevant to measure not only the amount of physical exercise performed during planned sessions, but also the level of activity all over the daytime. This paper presents a wearable solution that exploits properly instrumented shoes and a low power Long Range communication interface, to measure the user’s activity levels in a minimally invasive way. The paper considers the features and limits of the Long Range transmission technology tested in mobility conditions, with a specific focus on the packet loss rate, to evaluate if they match with the requirements of a wearable solution designed to measure the subject’s physical activity levels.