Orpheus, a project developed by a group of students from Politecnico di Milano as part of the interdisciplinary Smart Wearable Technologies programme and the Wearable Systems Lab course, has won the 2026 James Dyson Award, the international design and engineering competition promoted by the James Dyson Foundation.
Developed under the supervision of Prof. Sara Comai and Prof. Fabio Salice from the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, the project introduces a smart sock designed to counteract the sudden freezing of gait that can affect people with Parkinson’s disease.
Eight actuators positioned along the shin, ankle and toes transform music, analysed in real time by a smartphone app, into rhythmic vibrations. The system provides discreet, silent support for walking cadence and includes a dedicated intervention mode for freezing episodes. The app also selects the tracks best suited to therapy according to the user’s walking rhythm and integrates a voice assistant to make the device more accessible.
The team — Matteo Scarfone, Xiaoli Jiang, Giulia Coppola, Carlo Arnone, Giorgia Alberti and Aida Noemi Flecha Villamayor — received a €5,770 prize, which will support the miniaturisation of the prototype and the launch of larger-scale clinical studies.