The University of New Mexico (UNM) is participating in a $2.8 million project aimed at developing smart soles for shoes that integrate energy harvesters, primarily for health monitoring in military applications. Nathan Jackson, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, is leading UNM's involvement in this 18-month initiative.
UNM is collaborating with the University of Utah and several companies, including INVIZA Health, which is serving as the principal investigator. Among these collaborators is GP Plasma Inc., a company currently engaged in large-area magnetron sputtering of piezoelectric aluminum nitride materials deposited on stainless steel large-area panels.
The project forms part of INVIZA Health’s remote patient-airmen monitoring technology, which employs machine learning algorithms to significantly enhance health monitoring capabilities for both military and medical applications. This innovative technology will facilitate the monitoring of various vital signs such as heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, body temperature, and GPS location through embedded sensors.
Jackson explained his role as characterizing the piezoelectric materials and energy harvesters while also providing consultation on methods to deposit these materials. He further described the end product as "a more sophisticated version of wearable health monitoring systems that do not require charging."
Other participants in this project include Quanterion Solutions Inc. and Light-It Inc., with funding provided by SEMI Nano Bio Materials Consortium and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory.
