L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano Inspiration happens in the unlikeliest of places. It had been twenty days since Mario Esposito, a serial inven- tor and Microsoft engineer at that time, was going to the same c o f f e e s h o p t o g a t h e r h i s thoughts and wait for the spark of inspiration for the next big invention. Hopefully the one del secolo, of the century, but the inspiration was not coming up. T h a t a f t e r n o o n , h i s w i f e Victoria tried to cheer him up with a cappuccino. An unusual drink for him since –incredible but true- he didn't drink coffee even if he is Italian. Victoria was aware of the energetic effect of caffeine on Mario, but she didn't expect what kind of energy was lying behind the drink. When the cap- puccino spilt in his socks by accident Mario had the inven- t i o n i n f r o n t o f h i s e y e s . Observing the foam of the cap- puccino being absorbed by the fabric of the socks, he realized that he was going in the wrong d i r e c t i o n : h e d i d n ' t n e e d t o chase any idea, but he needed a "building block" to work with and to make it versatile for dif- ferent projects. The smart socks were born in an unlikely coffee shop, with the help of a cappuccino. This is not the beginning of a fiction novel; this is the story b e h i n d t h e c r e a t i o n o f Sensoria's Fitness Socks, one of most innovative wearable sports gear ever designed. U s i n g a s e c r e t c h e m i c a l process, Esposito realized he could convert any fabric into a pressure sensor and with the help of technology –of course- he could transform a pair of socks in something that could c h a n g e p e o p l e ' s l i v e s . Nowadays such expression is definitely overused, but in this case its meaning is appropriate b e c a u s e S e n s o r i a ' s F i t n e s s Socks are not just helping run- n e r s , a n d i m p r o v i n g p e r f o r - mances in the sports world, but t h e y h a v e a l a r g e u s e i n t h e healthcare system. In the elderly they can help by detecting and preventing injuries caused by falls thanks to the monitoring of the pressure through the feet and for diabetic individuals it can help avoid diabetic foot ulcers, through early detection. The creation and the launch of the intelligent socks couldn't have been possible without the partnership with two other bril- l i a n t I t a l i a n s : M a u r i z i o M a c a g n o , a f o r m e r s o f t w a r e professional with over 20 years o f e x p e r i e n c e n o w V P o f Development & Co-Founder of Sensoria and Davide Vigano a f o r m e r M i c r o s o f t E x e c u t i v e with over 25 years of sales, mar- keting and extensive product management experience, now CEO & Co-Founder of Sensoria. " T h e t h r e e o f u s t o g e t h e r worked 60 years for Microsoft", Mario says, smiling. S e n s o r i a ' s F i t n e s s S o c k s have been featured all over the national and international news, receiving prizes and recogni- tions because the innovation of this product. Besides counting steps and calories, measuring altitude, distance and speed, the socks can track foot landing pat- terns, cadence, and weight dis- tribution on the foot. These data sets are sent to a removable anklet that feeds the i n f o r m a t i o n t o t h e S e n s o r i a smartphone app that provides a virtual coach able to advise the users in real time. In this way the users can make corrections in their posture, adjust running form and improve their pose. Esposito shared his experi- ence in a way that just Italians have the gift for, making it spe- cial: detailed, colorful and fun to listen. Mario's process that led him to obtain the chemical formula that is able to transform 80 percent of all fabrics into pressure and temperature sen- s o r s w a s n o t e a s y . T h e Sensoria's Smart Socks inven- tion was the most challenging in his life so far, but the one that m a d e h i m d r i v e n w i t h o u t a doubt. His approach in his laborato- ry was creative on all levels: he used what he could find in order t o m e e t h i s n e e d s , s u c h a s a mechanical Halloween witch that he modified to be used to replicate foot pressure on the fabric." I needed a machine that didn't exist and I could have tried to order a customized one with the doubts of obtaining what I wanted, with the risk of wasting a lot of money. So, I decided to transform an inex- pensive Goodwill treasure into something very useful" he says, "In my region this behavior is summarized with the Italian say- i n g d e l m a i a l e n o n s i b u t t a niente, nothing of the pig get wasted". W h e n w e a s k e d h i m t h e source of his inspiration and success he said that the drive had two major foundations: his father, a business entrepreneur and a humble spirit at the same time and his mother with her endless creativity and willful- ness. "The vital lymph without any doubts are my two daughters", he continues. "The idea that I can leave the pride of my inven- tions to them is an unspeakable joy". On the question about how do people treat him when he g o e s b a c k h o m e , i n Pontecagnano, in the province o f S a l e r n o i n t h e C a m p a n i a r e g i o n , h e a n s w e r s s m i l i n g : "Last year they named a street after me, I kid you not, I thought it was a joke, but it is real". Mario Esposito. Photo credit: Marcus R. Donner Sensoria's Smart Socks: the fascinating story behind a wearable tech success MICHELA TARTAGLIA June 28, Sun. - Italian Book Club -"Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio" ("Scontro di civiltà per un ascen- sore a Piazza Vittorio") by Amara Lakhous. 2PM -4PM at Biblioteca Italiana Seattle at Gelateria D'Ambrosio of Capitol Hill. For more info visit http://ilpuntoseattle.org/activities June 28, Sun. - Fc Tacoma 253 vs Spartans. 2:30 PM– 4:30PM at Mount Tahoma Athletic Stadium, 4634 South 74th Street, Tacoma, WA 98409. F or more info vis it http://fctacoma253.com/fc-tacoma-253-man-schedule/ July 19, Sun. - Annual Picnic with Sons of Italy Association at Black Diamond Lodge #1809. 12:00PM - 5:00PM For more info visit http://www.seattlesonsofitaly.org/events.html

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