This project documents a functional prototype for a guided running shoe that displays directional navigation using an 8×8 LED dot matrix mounted on a piece of footwear. The shoe points toward a programmed destination using latitude and longitude, allowing a runner or walker to navigate without looking at a screen. This prototype uses: Arduino Nano ESP32 WiFi connection over mobile device Arduino IoT Cloud as the data link Phone sensors (GPS + accelerometer) for remote navigation intelligence.
Ultimately, this project is part of my ongoing study into screenless wayfinding and wearable navigation systems.
Things I’m particularly proud of in this project:
- Project perseverance
- problem solving & troubleshooting
- Connecting between devices
What I would work on next:
- Animations for when the wifi signal disconnects
- Adding gps and compass on the device for better responsiveness + accuracy
- 3D Printing a housing for these and a battery (if the form factor gets much bigger than perhaps integrating into the shoe)
- Creating more code for how the serial monitor displays data (for better understanding)
- A dedicated instructable and video walkthrough for phone to arduino IOT connection as this is not super easy to setup alone without sufficient know-how.
