Steppy Shoe
The strip follows the heel counter up the inside wall of the shoe, where there is structure but no pressure. It is never placed under the heel. The antenna section runs up the heel wall, away from the sole.
In development
Child safety that stays with them.
An ultra-thin cellular, GNSS and Bluetooth safety platform designed around the things children already wear.
- Cellular
- LTE-M / NB-IoT
- Location
- GNSS + network
- Battery
- 30+ day target
Cut-away concept view. From the outside, the shoe looks unchanged.
The problem
Safety only helps if it is actually there.
Phones
Can be forgotten on a kitchen table, and plenty of children are too young for one.
Backpacks
Get left behind in a classroom, a changing room or a friend's hallway.
Smartwatches
Are visible, get taken off during sport, and are the first thing a child removes.
What if safety technology became part of something they already wear?
Meet Steppy Mini
Not a box. A strip.
Steppy Mini is built on a flexible polyimide circuit that runs the length of the device. The electronics and the battery sit on small stiffened islands along that strip, and the flexible sections in between are where it bends. That is what lets it follow the inside of a shoe or the curve of a waistband instead of sitting on top of it.
The circuit bends
A polyimide flex backbone carries the signals from end to end and tolerates repeated flexing.
The battery stays flat
A thin lithium-polymer cell is never asked to bend. It sits on its own island, rigid and protected.
The components stay put
Stiffeners under the electronics keep the solder joints straight, which is what makes it survive daily wear.
Dimensions and layout shown here are engineering targets for the current development architecture, not confirmed production specifications.
How it works
Four systems, each asleep until it is needed.
Cellular
LTE-M / NB-IoT for independent communication, without relying on a nearby phone.
GNSS
Satellite positioning for outdoor location when the sky is in view.
Bluetooth
Ultra-low-power communication for setup and nearby presence.
Motion
A MEMS accelerometer decides when the power-hungry radios need to wake.
Two ways to wear
It goes where the child already goes.
The same module, two carriers. Both keep the electronics away from pressure points and both leave the outside looking ordinary.
Steppy Waist
The strip lies flat inside a soft textile channel in a waistband and follows the curve of the body. It reads as a slightly reinforced section of fabric, and the module comes out before the garment goes in the wash.
Carrier illustrations are concept cross-sections. Fit and placement are being refined during prototyping.
Ultra-thin architecture
Thin where it bends, thicker only where it must be.
- A
Flexible LTE / GNSS antenna
Printed on the polyimide flex, follows the carrier
- B
Cellular + GNSS module
Sequans Monarch 2 / SKY66431 class platform
- C
Bluetooth SoC
Nordic nRF54L15 class controller
- D
MEMS accelerometer
Ultra-low-power motion wake
- E
Power management
PMIC and charging
- F
Flex bridge
Bends between the rigid islands
- G
Thin LiPo battery
Stays flat — never bends
- Length
- 70–85 mm
- Width
- 14–16 mm
- Weight
- 5–8 g target
Concept engineering dimensions — subject to prototype validation.
Battery
Built around sleep, not constant transmission.
A GNSS fix and a cellular connection are the two most expensive things this device can do. So most of the time it does neither. A motion sensor and a low-power controller decide when the rest of the hardware needs to wake up at all.
Deep sleep
most of the dayRadios off. The accelerometer and the low-power controller are the only things awake.
Normal safety mode
the everyday settingPeriodic position and check-in, with motion deciding when it is worth waking the radios.
Increased tracking
when you need itMore frequent fixes and updates when you ask for them. This costs considerably more energy.
30+
day
Engineering target in normal safety mode
This is the figure we are designing towards, not a measured result from production hardware. Frequent GNSS fixes and frequent cellular updates consume significantly more energy and will reduce it.
Research
Every step can give something back.
We are investigating a thin PVDF piezoelectric layer in the shoe carrier. Walking flexes the film, the film produces a small charge, and a harvesting circuit feeds that into the battery.
Designed to recover small amounts of energy from everyday movement and potentially extend time between charges.
We want to be precise about what this is and is not. It does not make Steppy self charging, it is not powered by walking, and it will not remove the need to charge. The amounts involved are small. It is a battery extender under research, and whether it earns its place in the product depends on what the prototypes actually measure.
Optional feature under research. Not confirmed for the first production version.
Caregiver app
Clear information, and honest about what it knows.
App concept
9:41
Emma
In Safe ZoneLast update 2 minutes ago
- Location
- Latest available
- Battery
- 78%
- Connection
- Cellular
- Safe Zone
- School
Latest available location
With the time it was determined, so you can see how fresh it is rather than assuming it is live.
Battery status
So charging is something you plan, not something that surprises you.
Connectivity status
Whether the last update came over cellular, and when it last checked in.
Safe Zone status
Whether the device is inside a place you marked as expected.
Family access
More than one caregiver, each with their own account, and access you can withdraw.
Interface shown is a concept. The app is in development and the final design will differ.
Safe Zones
The places that are already part of the week.
Mark home, school, daycare, grandparents or the sports club, and Steppy can let you know when it arrives or leaves. It is a quiet confirmation that the ordinary thing happened, rather than a map you are expected to watch.
Home
The default anchor, and usually the one you never think about again.
School
Arrival in the morning and departure in the afternoon.
Daycare
Hand-over moments on the days that have them.
Grandparents
The second home that is not your home.
Sports club
Training evenings and weekend matches.
Your own
Anywhere that matters to your family and nobody else.
Zone notifications depend on network coverage and on how recently the device was able to determine its position. Steppy is not designed as a guaranteed continuous real-time feed, and we would rather say that here than let you discover it later.
Privacy and security
Children's location data deserves exceptional protection.
Encrypted communication
Between the device, the service and the app.
Authenticated caregiver accounts
Access is tied to a person, not to whoever holds a link.
Unique device identities
Each unit identifies itself; one device cannot pose as another.
Signed firmware
The device only accepts firmware we have signed.
Secure firmware updates
Delivered over an authenticated channel, with rollback protection.
Controlled data retention
Location history is kept for a limited period, not indefinitely.
Revocable access
A caregiver can be removed, and their access ends when you say so.
What Steppy is not
Steppy is being developed as a child-safety product for caregivers and the children in their care. It is not a general-purpose covert surveillance platform, and we are not building it to be used as one. That shapes real decisions: the device is meant to be known about by the family it belongs to, access is tied to identified accounts that can be revoked, and retention is limited rather than permanent.
Development status
Where this actually stands.
We would rather show you an honest roadmap than imply we are further along than we are.
- Completed
Concept
Architecture chosen: segmented rigid-flex, flat battery, flexible antenna.
- In progress
Engineering prototype
Where we are now. Boards, carriers and firmware on the bench.
- Planned
EVT
Engineering validation: does the design do what we think it does.
- Planned
DVT
Design validation: durability, fit, antenna performance, real wear.
- Planned
Certification
Radio and safety approvals. Nothing is certified until it is.
- Planned
PVT
Production validation on tooling, at small volume.
- Planned
Production
Manufacturing and fulfilment.
No certification has been granted at this stage and no production hardware exists. Any marks, ratings or measured figures will only appear here once they have been independently established.
Kickstarter
Help us take Steppy from engineering prototype to production.
The hardware works on the bench. What a campaign pays for is the unglamorous part: validation rounds, certification, tooling and the first production run.
Super Early Bird
€89
Limited quantity
Early Bird
€99
Limited quantity
Kickstarter Edition
€109
Campaign price
Founder Edition
€149
Includes both carriers
Reward tiers are indicative and will be confirmed when the campaign opens. Nothing is for sale on this website and no payment is taken here.
Questions
The things people actually ask.
Does Steppy need another phone nearby?
No. Steppy Mini is being designed with its own LTE-M / NB-IoT cellular connection, so it does not depend on a paired phone being in range. Bluetooth is there for setup and short-range use, not as the primary link.
How does location work?
Outdoors, GNSS satellite positioning gives the most accurate result. Where satellite reception is poor, the cellular network can provide a coarser estimate. The app always shows the latest available location with the time it was determined, rather than implying a continuous live feed.
How long will the battery last?
Our engineering target is 30+ days in normal safety mode. That is a target we are designing towards, not a measured production figure. Frequent GNSS fixes and frequent cellular updates consume significantly more energy and will shorten it.
Does walking recharge the tracker?
No. We are researching a thin PVDF piezoelectric layer in the shoe carrier that recovers a small amount of energy from movement. It is designed to extend time between charges, not to replace charging. Steppy will always need to be charged.
Will there be a subscription?
Cellular connectivity has a running cost, so some form of ongoing plan is likely. We have not finalised pricing and will publish it before the campaign ends rather than after.
Which countries will be supported?
We are developing for European LTE-M and NB-IoT networks first. Coverage depends on individual mobile operators and we will publish a tested country list once certification and field testing are complete.
Does it work indoors?
Satellite positioning needs a view of the sky, so indoor accuracy is limited. Indoors, Steppy falls back on network-based positioning and Bluetooth proximity, which places the device in an area rather than on a precise point.
Is it waterproof?
The carriers are being designed for everyday exposure such as sweat, rain and splashes. We are not claiming an IP rating: a rating means an independently tested classification, and we will only state one once testing is done.
Will children feel it?
That is the point of the flexible architecture. The strip is thin where it bends and slightly thicker only where the electronics and battery sit, and those areas are placed away from pressure points. The target total weight is approximately 5 to 8 grams.
Can it move between shoes?
Yes. The module is designed to be removable from its carrier, so it can move between shoes, between a shoe and a waistband, and out of a garment before washing.
How is location data protected?
Communication is encrypted, devices have unique identities, caregiver accounts are authenticated and access can be revoked. Retention is limited and firmware is signed. The privacy section on this page sets out the approach in more detail.
When will Kickstarter rewards ship?
We will publish a shipping estimate with the campaign, based on where the hardware actually stands at that moment. We would rather give a date we can keep than an optimistic one.
Be first to know when Steppy launches.
Follow the campaign on Kickstarter. You will be notified when it goes live, and that is where every update on the hardware will appear first.