e-pants

12.03.08

Fancy Pants May Prevent Falls

A new pair of high-tech pants monitors the wearer's joints

By Sam Barrett Posted 07.30.2008 at 5:55 pm 0 Comments

A team of engineers at Virginia Tech University has designed a pair of pants that may identify people who have a high risk of falling.

Several small circuit boards containing microcontrollers, sensors, and communication devices -- called e-TAGS -- are embedded in the pants at the hip, knee, and ankle joints. Each foot has a piezoelectric sensor—a sensor that generates an electric pulse through applied stress—at the heel that is connected to an e-TAG in the pants. The whole setup is powered by a nine-volt battery attached near the waist.

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READ MORE ABOUT > e-pants, health, pants, piezoelectric material, Sam Barrett

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