Developed by Lenovo, and created in collaboration with Vibram, there are a new set of smart shoes that could one day be set to enter the market. Among other things, they’ll be able to track both step counting as well as how many calories are burned, allow the user to participate in fitness competitions, custom lighting, and music interaction, and allow users to receive health tips derived from a special insole. Oh, and it also will double as a game controller.
Currently shown as merely a prototype, the sneakers will be embedded with Intel’s Curie chip, which is a Quark based SoC that’s been designed specifically for wearables, as it’s both low power and quite small. As for the gaming, Lenovo fittingly cooked up an endless runner game to go with the sneakers, where players wearing these sneakers use them to control the character in the game, with players step back and forth and cause the character to do the same.
The sneakers are apparently not going to ship any time soon, or ever. But speaking for myself, it does spark the imagination for what could be around the corner for a new way to control gaming. Or it will at least be entertaining watching other people using these shoe controllers.
Website Referenced: TheVerge
