Pressure is the force between two objects, distributed over the contact area. If soft or flexible objects touch each other, the pressure distribution changes. This is of importance, e.g if pressure peaks need to be prevented. 

Force can be calculated by integrating (adding) the pressures applied on a surface of an object. This is of importance, e.g if the object is part of a system that is being studied (object: foot, system: human body).

A wireless system is not fixed to a single location. Our systems range from fixed (e.g. emed) to wireless (e.g. pedar) to lightweight mobile (e.g. loadsol).

Our lightweight mobile systems are designed to measure during e.g. outdoor activities without interfering with the natural movement of the subject.

Hard objects do not change their form or shape if a force or pressure is applied (e.g. concrete surface)

Soft objects react to a force that is applied by changing their form and shape. This results in a change of pressure distribution (e.g. car seat, human foot, etc.)

Novel uses capacitive sensors, which are suitable to ensure

1. a low drift of the measuring signal
2. a low hysteresis for the measurement
3. a constant displacement force curve,
4. and which allow more than five measuring cycles, as well as measurements with dynamic and static force application.

Both the pedar and loadsol are classified as “wireless” systems, as both transmit the recorded data using Bluetooth technology. But they measure different things.

If you are interested in measuring the pressure distribution, i.e. the loading on specific regions inside the shoes, during specific activities, you will need to use the pedar system.

Pedar consists of an analyser, powered by a rechargeable battery with an autonomy of approx. 4 hours, both mounted on an elastic belt that is fixed around the waist of the test person. Two cables are connected to the measuring insoles from the analyser, fixed to the legs of the volunteer by Velcro straps. Each insole consist of 99 capacitive sensors individually calibrated: during a static or dynamic assessment, data measured by the sensors (100 Hz) are transmitted to the analyser, which transfers data via Bluetooth® in real time to the PC. You can also store simultaneously measurement data on a SD card, if the measurement is going to exceed the transmission range of Bluetooth® so that no data is lost.

Pedar measures pressure distribution and force and over time and on selected areas of the plantar region, since you can “mask” the insole to analyse data on specific regions of interest. All data can be exported to ASCII. Please see here for additional technical information and applications:https://novel.de/products/pedar/

However, if you are looking into the forces applied during these activities, loadsol is the system you need: it will measure the normal plantar force in the shoe both during static and dynamic measurements, covering the plantar area in up to three sensor regions.

Loadsol is powered by a matchbox sized electronic running on button cells, allowing for long-term monitoring. The Bluetooth® signal is transmitted to a smartphone or a mobile device like an iPod/iPhone etc., where the measurement can be monitored in real time.

Data can be saved on the mobile device and on the cloud, and subsequently transferred to a PC for further evaluation.

More information can be obtained here: https://novel.de/products/loadsol/