The aim of the second semester project is to cement our Design Thinking skills and practice working with an industry “board” partner in a startup-style environment.

For this challenge, TU Dresden provided the team with a flexible pressure sensor whose original startup went bankrupt. The task was to identify and develop a promising healthcare application for this technology.

The team followed the classic Design Thinking process: conducting dozens of user interviews with doctors or patients, synthesizing key insights, ideating potential solutions, and rapidly building prototypes. Throughout, they ran regular workshops with TU Dresden to share progress and let them guide which opportunity area they pursued. The outcome of our project is a functional smart-shoe prototype designed to support individuals with lower-limb paralysis in relearning how to walk. The shoe tracks how you walk and provides real-time feedback to the user’s shoulders.

The team secured 2nd place at Demo Day and received highly positive feedback, not only from TU Dresden, but also from physiotherapists. This is highlighting the potential for continued research and further development.