A Smart Footwear Platform for Gait Augmentation – Application to Musical Feedback for Improving Gait in Parkinson's Disease–

Yuki Uno, Fushi Sano, Riki Saito, Ryo Yumoto, Tomoya Nakamura, Tomohiro Samma, Kenta Tanaka, Harukaze Yatsugi, Makoto Sawada, Yuya Kikukawa, and Shinya Fujii

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with a rapidly increasing prevalence. Gait disturbances such as reduced stride length and freezing of gait (FoG) are characteristic symptoms that affect quality of life. Because these symptoms fluctuate throughout the day and FoG often occurs transiently, continuous gait monitoring and immediate intervention are required in daily life. In addition, the progressive reduction of movement amplitude highlights the importance of sustained gait training. While rhythmic auditory stimulation has been shown to be effective in alleviating gait disturbances in PD, its effects vary across individuals, and monotonous auditory cues often fail to maintain motivation, limiting long-term use in everyday settings. Incorporating musicality into auditory feedback may therefore enhance engagement and adherence by fostering active involvement in movement. In this study, we propose a musical feedback system built on a smart footwear platform consisting of a foot-mounted gait analysis motion sensor (ORPHE CORE 3.0) and an software development kit that enables flexible handling of gait data. The system is designed to support people with PD by reducing FoG and promoting enjoyable and effective gait training. We developed two application: an interactive auditory cue system that triggers drum sounds synchronized with steps, and a musical feedback system in which music is generated and evolves according to gait quality.Case studies with two people with PD demonstrated reduced FoG duration during curved walking, improvements in gait parameters, and high enjoyment ratings. These findings suggest that linking gait to musical expression can provide not only movement support but also an engaging experience that enhances agency and motivation. This study proposes a smart footwear platform that bridges rehabilitation and musical expression, offering new possibilities for healthcare-oriented applications within the NIME community.

Citation

Yuki Uno, Fushi Sano, Riki Saito, Ryo Yumoto, Tomoya Nakamura, Tomohiro Samma, Kenta Tanaka, Harukaze Yatsugi, Makoto Sawada, Yuya Kikukawa, and Shinya Fujii. 2026. A Smart Footwear Platform for Gait Augmentation – Application to Musical Feedback for Improving Gait in Parkinson's Disease–. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20784489 [PDF]

BibTeX Entry

@inproceedings{nime2026_161,
 abstract = {Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with a rapidly increasing prevalence. Gait disturbances such as reduced stride length and freezing of gait (FoG) are characteristic symptoms that affect quality of life. Because these symptoms fluctuate throughout the day and FoG often occurs transiently, continuous gait monitoring and immediate intervention are required in daily life. In addition, the progressive reduction of movement amplitude highlights the importance of sustained gait training. While rhythmic auditory stimulation has been shown to be effective in alleviating gait disturbances in PD, its effects vary across individuals, and monotonous auditory cues often fail to maintain motivation, limiting long-term use in everyday settings. Incorporating musicality into auditory feedback may therefore enhance engagement and adherence by fostering active involvement in movement. In this study, we propose a musical feedback system built on a smart footwear platform consisting of a foot-mounted gait analysis motion sensor (ORPHE CORE 3.0) and an software development kit that enables flexible handling of gait data. The system is designed to support people with PD by reducing FoG and promoting enjoyable and effective gait training. We developed two application: an interactive auditory cue system that triggers drum sounds synchronized with steps, and a musical feedback system in which music is generated and evolves according to gait quality.Case studies with two people with PD demonstrated reduced FoG duration during curved walking, improvements in gait parameters, and high enjoyment ratings. These findings suggest that linking gait to musical expression can provide not only movement support but also an engaging experience that enhances agency and motivation. This study proposes a smart footwear platform that bridges rehabilitation and musical expression, offering new possibilities for healthcare-oriented applications within the NIME community.},
 address = {London, United Kingdom},
 articleno = {161},
 author = {Yuki Uno and Fushi Sano and Riki Saito and Ryo Yumoto and Tomoya Nakamura and Tomohiro Samma and Kenta Tanaka and Harukaze Yatsugi and Makoto Sawada and Yuya Kikukawa and Shinya Fujii},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.20784489},
 editor = {Benedict Gaster and João Tragtenberg and Anna Xambó and Tom Mitchell},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {June},
 note = {},
 numpages = {12},
 pages = {1291--1302},
 title = {A Smart Footwear Platform for Gait Augmentation – Application to Musical Feedback for Improving Gait in  Parkinson's Disease–},
 track = {paper},
 url = {http://nime.org/proceedings/2026/nime2026_161.pdf},
 year = {2026}
}