StrideSense started on an Arduino board. It now runs on a Seeed XIAO nRF52840 Sense. This post is the short version of why, written as a build-log note rather than a tutorial.
The constraint that drove it
A smart insole has to disappear into a shoe. That puts hard limits on size and on power, and it means wireless is not optional — you cannot run a cable out of someone’s shoe.
What the board buys
- Size. The XIAO footprint fits where a larger dev board never could.
- Onboard sensing. The Sense variant brings an IMU along for the ride.
- BLE. The nRF52840 is a Bluetooth Low Energy part, so streaming off the insole is built in rather than bolted on.
What I’m still working out
TODO(JP): fill in the real engineering notes — sampling rate, how you’re packing the pressure + IMU data, power budget, and anything that fought back.
This is a living note. As the firmware settles I’ll update it with numbers.