SolePower
SolePower develops patented kinetic energy harvesting SmartBoots with embedded GPS, RFID, and IMU sensors that power themselves from walking motion, targeting industrial workers, first responders, and the US military for real-time location, safety, and compliance monitoring.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersPittsburgh, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What SolePower does
SolePower is a Pittsburgh-based hardware startup founded in 2012 by Hahna Alexander and Matthew Stanton, originally from a Carnegie Mellon University capstone project. The company develops patented kinetic energy harvesting technology embedded in OSHA-approved work boots: heel-strike mechanical energy spins a micro-generator that powers onboard GPS, RFID, IMU sensors and wireless communication modules, eliminating the need for external battery charging. This SmartBoot platform is productized into three variants targeting industrial high-risk workers (construction, manufacturing, energy), first responders (fire, EMS), and defense (US Army), each addressing worker location tracking, fatigue monitoring, struck-by incident prevention, physiological monitoring, and compliance reporting.
SolePower sells directly to enterprise and government buyers via demos and pilot programs, while also distributing through a 2017 strategic partnership with SR Max/Saf-Gard Safety Shoes, which provides a proprietary MaxTrax slip-resistant outsole and access to over 15,000 retail locations. The company has secured US Army R&D contracts and NSF SBIR grants to validate and refine the platform, and has been recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30, the White House, and Toyota's Mother of Invention program. Revenue is generated through SmartBoot hardware sales and an associated cloud-based remote management platform likely offered via subscription, with multi-year enterprise contracts and no public pricing disclosed.
At 1-10 employees and with roughly $424K in disclosed funding across multiple small rounds (AlphaLab, Innovation Works, Revolution's Rise of the Rest, Hatcher+, NSF), SolePower remains in pre-commercial scaling, explicitly soliciting "industry partners in safety, IoT and defense to accelerate development." Total disclosed funding is modest, revenue is not disclosed, and the company continues to run pilot programs across multiple verticals rather than operating at commercial scale.
SolePower firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SolePower
- Legal name
- SolePower
- Website
- https://solepowertech.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- SolePower develops patented kinetic energy harvesting SmartBoots with embedded GPS, RFID, and IMU sensors that power themselves from walking motion, targeting industrial workers, first responders, and the US military for real-time location, safety, and compliance monitoring.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
SolePower industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Industrial Safety Wearables
- NAICS
- Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing (33411), Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing (334519)
- SIC
- Computer Peripheral Equipment, Nec (3577), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Wearable Computers (Industrial Smart Glasses/Wrist/Arm-Mount) (HDACALAH)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- SCADA/HMI Platforms (IMAGABAB)
Keywords
Where SolePower is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Pittsburgh
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
SolePower business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- SmartBoot Hardware Sales: SolePower sells self-powered SmartBoot hardware (work boots with embedded kinetic chargers and sensor suites) to industrial companies, first responder organizations, and defense agencies. Hardware is sold directly or through channel partners (SR Max/Saf-Gard).
- Remote Management Platform / SaaS: The company offers a cloud-based remote management platform that aggregates and projects sensor data onto dashboards. This platform is likely offered as a subscription or managed service alongside hardware.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Enterprise B2B hardware and platform pricing |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
SolePower product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SolePower designs and sells self-powered SmartBoots—OSHA-approved industrial work boots with embedded kinetic energy harvesting (a heel-strike micro-generator), GPS, RFID, IMU sensors, and wireless communication modules that send location, motion, and environmental data to a cloud-based remote management dashboard. The platform is offered in vertical variants for industrial high-risk workers, first responders, and defense/military personnel, with hardware sold directly or via channel partner SR Max/Saf-Gard alongside an associated subscription platform.
Product overview
SolePower offers SmartBoots, a connected industrial work boot platform powered by proprietary kinetic energy harvesting technology. The platform consists of the core SmartBoots system with specialized variants for Industrial (high-risk workers), First Responder (firefighters and emergency responders), and Defense (military) applications. At the core of the system is a patented kinetic charger that generates power from walking motion, eliminating the need for external charging. The boots integrate GPS, RFID, and IMU sensors with cloud connectivity to provide real-time location tracking, environmental monitoring, worker safety alerts, and productivity analytics.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- SmartBoots: Remote management platform for improving safety and productivity on high-risk worksites. Smart work boots with embedded GPS, RFID, IMU sensors, and kinetic energy harvesting for real-time location tracking, environmental monitoring, and worker safety management.
Products and services
- SmartBoots Connected industrial work boots with embedded kinetic energy harvesting technology that powers GPS tracking, RFID, and IMU sensors for real-time location monitoring, environmental sensing, and worker safety management on high-risk worksites. Targeted at industrial, first responder, and defense organizations.
- SmartBoots for Industrial Vertical variant of the SmartBoots platform for high-risk industrial workers, providing remote management for real-time location tracking, user fatigue measurement, emergency alerts, workflow transparency, and struck-by incident prevention in manufacturing, construction, energy, and other industrial environments.
- SmartBoots for First Responder Vertical variant of SmartBoots for firefighters and emergency responders, embedding sensors for location, motion, and environmental monitoring, with emergency assessment capabilities, physiological factor measurement, and improved visibility in smoke and fire environments.
- SmartBoots for Defense Vertical variant of SmartBoots for military personnel, using self-charging kinetic energy technology to power embedded sensors that monitor soldier status and mission-critical data, reducing battery burden and improving warfighter safety and effectiveness.
- SmartBoot Remote Management Platform Cloud-based remote management dashboard that aggregates location, motion, and environmental data from SmartBoots sensors, enabling real-time workforce monitoring, safety alerts, fatigue tracking, and incident reporting for industrial, first responder, and defense customers.
Quantifiable outcome
- Workplace injuries and illnesses result in an annual loss of over US$220 billion in the US
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use SolePower
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
SolePower technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
SolePower partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- SR Max / Saf-Gard Safety ShoescoreSolePower partnered with SR Max/Saf-Gard to develop self-charging SmartBoots for industrial safety. SR Max provides its proprietary MaxTrax slip-resistant outsole technology and access to over 15,000 retail distribution locations. SolePower provides the embedded kinetic charger and sensor platform. Patrick Kubis, President of SR Max and Saf-Gard, described the collaboration as transforming workplace safety and efficiency.
- US Army R&D DivisioncoreSolePower is partnering with the US Army R&D division to create a self-sustaining data collection and power source for soldiers. The patented kinetic energy technology is being developed as a lightweight solution that creates power as boots strike the ground. Kinetic chargers are currently in test with the US Military to charge battery packs and lighten soldier load.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
SolePower competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Bionic Power: Bionic Power develops kinetic energy harvesting wearables — notably the PowerWalk knee-harvest device for soldier load reduction — making it the closest direct peer to SolePower's kinetic boot technology serving defense and industrial use cases.
- Guardhat: Guardhat is a connected PPE platform offering location tracking, biometrics, and environmental sensing for industrial workers via wearables and software — directly comparable to SolePower's SmartBoots industrial variant and remote management dashboard.
- Kenzen: Kenzen provides wearable physiological and environmental monitoring for industrial workers to prevent heat injury and fatigue — a comparable use case to SolePower's fatigue monitoring and worker safety features, though delivered via a patch rather than boots.
- StrongArm Technologies: StrongArm makes wearable safety devices (e.g., Fuse Sensor) for industrial workers to reduce musculoskeletal injuries, with cloud-based analytics — competing with SolePower in the connected industrial worker safety and ergonomics category.
- Triax Technologies: Triax's Spot-r platform delivers worker location, fall detection, and productivity data on construction sites via clip-on wearables — overlapping with SolePower's SmartBoots use cases for construction safety and worker visibility.
Broad incumbents
- DAQRI (now Arvizio / RealWear-adjacent): RealWear and the broader rugged industrial wearables category (including former DAQRI smart helmets) serve overlapping industrial workforce use cases with head-mounted displays — competing for the same connected-worker IT budget as SolePower's smart boots.
- Honeywell Safety Products: Honeywell is a dominant industrial PPE and safety solutions incumbent increasingly adding connected/sensor features across its portfolio — a major potential incumbent competitor to SolePower's connected boots in EHS procurement.
- 3M Safety & Graphics: 3M's safety division supplies PPE and hearing/communication protection to the same industrial and construction customers SolePower targets, and is actively investing in sensor-enabled PPE — a broad incumbent that could squeeze niche players.
- Garmin (Industrial/Outdoor wearables): Garmin's rugged GPS wearables and connected devices (e.g., inReach, Instinct tactical) overlap with the location and situational awareness features of SolePower's SmartBoots for defense and industrial outdoor workers.
Emerging players
- Pavegen Systems: Pavegen harvests kinetic energy from footfall — though in flooring rather than wearables — making it a comparable emerging player in kinetic energy harvesting technology that validates the broader kinetic-power thesis relevant to SolePower.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
SolePower social profiles
Digital presenceSolePower financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SolePower leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
SolePower funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds8 records
Investors7 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SolePower M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about SolePower
What does SolePower do?
SolePower designs and sells self-powered SmartBoots—OSHA-approved industrial work boots with embedded kinetic energy harvesting (a heel-strike micro-generator), GPS, RFID, IMU sensors, and wireless communication modules that send location, motion, and environmental data to a cloud-based remote management dashboard. The platform is offered in vertical variants for industrial high-risk workers, first responders, and defense/military personnel, with hardware sold directly or via channel partner SR Max/Saf-Gard alongside an associated subscription platform.
Is SolePower a public or private company?
SolePower is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was SolePower founded?
SolePower was founded in 2012. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is SolePower based?
SolePower is headquartered in Pittsburgh, United States, in the North America region.
How does SolePower make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. SmartBoot Hardware Sales are the primary driver. The others are remote Management Platform / SaaS.
Who are SolePower's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Bionic Power, Guardhat, Kenzen, StrongArm Technologies and Triax Technologies. Broad incumbents are DAQRI (now Arvizio / RealWear-adjacent), Honeywell Safety Products, 3M Safety & Graphics and Garmin (Industrial/Outdoor wearables). Pavegen Systems is listed as an emerging player.
Does SolePower have an API?
No public API is recorded for SolePower.
What industry is SolePower in?
SolePower's product category is Industrial Safety Wearables. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDACALAH, Wearable Computers (Industrial Smart Glasses/Wrist/Arm-Mount), with a secondary code of IMAGABAB, SCADA/HMI Platforms. Its NAICS code is 33411 and its SIC code is 3577.