Google's Talking Shoe

Time to attach computers to more parts of our bodies? Google's "Talking Shoe" turns your feet into motivational drill sergeants...

We've all seen Google's aspiring "Google Glasses", their augmented reality wearable computer with a head mounted display, but now it seems that the big guys at Google think it's time to attach computers to more parts of our bodies with their new Talking Shoe, or as I like to call them: "Google Shoes".

This weekend, Google has been showing off an interesting product at the SXSW interactive headquarters: the Talking Shoe. Basically, this is a normal pair of shoes jam-packed with wires, circuit boards, and a speaker, in order to speak out loud and incite you to work, walk, or run faster to keep you in shape. A partnership with artist Zach Lieberman and YesYesNo, the shoe uses an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and Bluetooth to gather data and generate "witty" comments to speak out-loud and/or post to your Google+ page, if you let it. It's not actually for anything real...Instead, it's part of Google's new Art, Copy, Code project which is primarily-you guessed it-art...or something like it... 

Of course this type of device which is supposed to help people work out is not new. Apple has had a long relationship with Nike to offer iOS based solutions for those who wish to workout by running around and keeping track of their path, the amount of calories lost and many other data points. There are also a lot of armbands that will use sensors to keep track of your mileage, heart rate, blood pressure, and so on. 

But none of those solutions are as creative as the Talking Shoe. As you walk around, having an actual voice tell you that "this is super boring" if you are standing still, or to "call 911 because you're on fire!" when you are moving around a lot, is quite entertaining. The employee showing this shoe off also says that this product has its own personality whereas it can encourage you to work out, or berate you for not being active enough. So far this is just an experiment for marketing and advertising agencies and will not show up on shelves, but perhaps footwear companies may pick up the tab. Google also released the video below to showcase what the shoe can do.

The project may never reach the market but it is still a cool idea...though, personally I don't think I would like a robot shoe with a British accent telling me to jog faster.