Monitoring of shop-floor workers postural stability through the use of smart soles

Shop-floor workers have occupations that require taking the same position for a long time, leading to unbalanced postures, repetitive movements, or lifting excess weight. Over time, these conditions can cause multiple health issues, that can lead to serious injuries. Manufacturing and occupational health and safety are co-evolving. Industries recognize that the well-being of their employees is a significant component for productive success. Industry 4.0 is the assimilation of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), Internet of Things (IoT) and Internet of Services (IoS). These systems bring the promise of adapting industrial systems through automated decision-making, positively impacting on the performance, safety and sustainability of industrial systems. This work proposes an integrated solution of wearable devices, namely, smart soles, that are able to collect workers’ postural data and alert the user when justified, ultimately supporting workers’ well-being improvement.