Exploring the Potential of the Foot to Infer on User Information

Research in previous decades has explored foot interaction via foot interfaces, namely with pressure sensitive insoles in different applications such as gait analysis, rehabilitation, explicit gestures, and implicit interactions. However, there is still a vast amount of unexplored information about the feet. Focusing research on pressure sensitive insoles, within this particular type of foot interface, is beneficial as it is less obtrusive than wearing bulky cameras or multiple IMUs attached to the leg and foot. An insole can simply be worn inside footwear and remain unnoticed by others. The aim of this PhD research is to contribute new concepts that will complement previous research in the domain of mobile computing. To accomplish this, three application scenarios will be explored that related to foot interfaces, which has not broadly been explored yet such as evaluating exercise performance, inferring the user's mental state and distinguishing physical activities and detecting anomalies.