If you were excited about Google Glasses, this might excite you or make you think “wtf?” Google is at the SXSW conference which is taking place this weekend. It’s also known as “South by Southwest”, and they are showing off some speaking shoes. They are already working on self-driving cars and now this? What will Google come up with next?
Engadget spoke with one of Google’s reps at SXSW and they expressed this disclaimer:
“Google is not getting into the shoe business”
So looks like Google is just in the business of creating some really cool products. So why is Google hacking these shoes? Google’s giving the shoes character, using Bluetooth to sync up to your smartphone and “using a series of ‘if and statements’ to give your shoes personality.” So maybe your shoes will tell you to get off the couch and go ahead and get moving? We could all use those shoes right? But while the company has Adidas behind them, we won’t be seeing these hit the market as such, though the representative that Engadget spoke with told them that they might be looking to open source the information so you can make your own. Now that would be freaking cool!
So speaking shoes….really? While they sound cool, what happens when you’re wearing them outside and it starts raining or snowing? It would be interesting to see how these hold up with the weather changing constantly here in Detroit. I’d love to give these a try though, wouldn’t you? I really wonder what kind of information it can sync with your smartphone? Possibly how long you’ve walked/ran, or how many steps you’ve taken. There could be some real world use for something like this. Nevertheless, this is called innovation, and it’s a lot more than what Apple would call “innovation.