How Smart is too Smart? Smart Shoes Vibrate to Point Out the Right Direction

[dgstorm]

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Where do we draw the line on smart devices? At what point does it become silly? Smartphones, tablets, Google Glass, smartwatches, smart-thermostats, and now... smart shoes? The above video shows off the Lechal interactive haptic footwear, which are designed to help direct you while you are out and about. Here's a quote describing them,

The Lechal interactive haptic footwear hooks up to your smartphone and when you reach a junction, vibrates the left (or right) foot depending on which turn you need to make. The gear is expected to launch in September, and you'll be able to choose between full shoes or just insoles that'll fit inside your regular pair of kicks.

Although we are poking a little fun at this concept, in reality, this is just the tip of the iceberg for smart devices. Within the next few years we expect an avalanche of these types of devices. Some of them will probably be very useful, and some will probably be pretty ridiculous. In which category do you think this one fits?

 

[Narsil]

 

[Sajo]

My first thought was was the "silly" category. But then I thought: what if I am at my favorite local pub and have one too many? If I have the route home programmed into my phone and I am wearing these shoes...they will vibrate to point me in the right direction & I will not get lost. Brilliant!

 

[LoudRam]

They would work nice if you were visiting a place where you don't know your way around. You wouldn't need to walk around with the phone in your hand all the time watching the map looking like a lost tourist.

Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk

 

[Jeffrey]

Interesting responses. I guess these shoes just may have some merit.

 

[TOMMYBOT]

as long as your gps is feeling accurate...
if i have to sit and wait at a corner for it to catch up and tell me where to go. it would get very irritating.

 

[Shadez]

I could see the blind really benefiting from this also ..

 

[hradek422]

I could see this kind of tech having a use, but not so much the ones mentioned here. If the shoes or insoles could have an associated app to go with them, that track where the most pressure is on your feet when you walk and run, and provide assistance to help you to correct the way you walk/run (for example, actively reminds you not to heel-strike or not to walk/run on the outsides of your feet). This could be huge tech in the eyes of marathon runners and fitness fanatics, or even just people who want to run better with less pain.

*EDIT*

Furthermore, people who have jobs such as cashiers, who basically stand in one spot for 8 hours at a time, could benefit from this as well. The app could monitor the amount of pressure being exerted on the feet over X period of time, and could use this "Haptic Feedback" to massage the feet in a sense, which could improve circulation and blood flow, also reducing pain.

 

[Sajo]

I could see this kind of tech having a use, but not so much the ones mentioned here. If the shoes or insoles could have an associated app to go with them, that track where the most pressure is on your feet when you walk and run, and provide assistance to help you to correct the way you walk/run (for example, actively reminds you not to heel-strike or not to walk/run on the outsides of your feet). This could be huge tech in the eyes of marathon runners and fitness fanatics, or even just people who want to run better with less pain.

*EDIT*

Furthermore, people who have jobs such as cashiers, who basically stand in one spot for 8 hours at a time, could benefit from this as well. The app could monitor the amount of pressure being exerted on the feet over X period of time, and could use this "Haptic Feedback" to massage the feet in a sense, which could improve circulation and blood flow, also reducing pain.

You bring up some excellent points where these could be useful! My post was just meant to be tongue-in-cheek humor, but these are good points that new technology could help with someday.

 

[hradek422]

You bring up some excellent points where these could be useful! My post was just meant to be tongue-in-cheek humor, but these are good points that new technology could help with someday.

Oh I understand. It did seem silly to me at first, and then I really got to thinking about the uses for this tech if they were to take it further than this. They already have something similar to what I'm thinking, but it requires the use of a box attached to your back, and wires running down your legs, and looks really stupid. Also, it outputs to a PC, which let's be honest, people's phones have pretty much replaced PCs at this point for the layman.

For what I'm talking about though, it would have to be an insole, and not a shoe. My friends who run said they'd be interested in such a thing, but serious runners replace their shoes anywhere between 3-4 months, or in some cases every month. To make it a long-term use for the customer, they'd have to be insoles that could be taken out and put in other shoes.

I just found these. http://www.gizmag.com/moticon-sensor-insoles/30920/