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India’s Answer to Google Glass: The Smartshoe

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Re: India’s Answer to Google Glass: The Smartshoe

#61
post #29
post #18

Shoes are a fantastic idea, and highly overlooked. The biggest hurdle to wearable technology is the friction required to convince a consumer to wear it. We all wear shoes. We don't all wear glasses or watches. Some of us even wear contacts to avoid wearing glasses. The Smartshoe doesn't seem as competitive to Google Glass as it is complimentary. Glasses have a better appeal for visual media capture because you can se…

It also needs to be useful on a relatively regular basis otherwise there's a dissonance between added value and the additional cost. For these shoes to be useful you need to be walking somewhere you don't know the way to, without someone with you who knows the way with you, for a distance that makes you not want to take your phone out to check you're going the right way occasionally. I don't think I've been in that s…

I am not sure that people always need to actively navigate when on foot. You just go in the right general direction noticing places you recognise. You could subtly push the user along paths they have taken before and resist unknown paths. With gentle enough vibration and enough use would you even notice the prompting? It would just become a part of your natural navigation instead of the constant nagging of turn by turn.

Re: India’s Answer to Google Glass: The Smartshoe

#62
post #29
post #18

Shoes are a fantastic idea, and highly overlooked. The biggest hurdle to wearable technology is the friction required to convince a consumer to wear it. We all wear shoes. We don't all wear glasses or watches. Some of us even wear contacts to avoid wearing glasses. The Smartshoe doesn't seem as competitive to Google Glass as it is complimentary. Glasses have a better appeal for visual media capture because you can se…

It also needs to be useful on a relatively regular basis otherwise there's a dissonance between added value and the additional cost. For these shoes to be useful you need to be walking somewhere you don't know the way to, without someone with you who knows the way with you, for a distance that makes you not want to take your phone out to check you're going the right way occasionally. I don't think I've been in that s…

At destination tourist sites, rent the shoes out (or sell the "tour" software to those who own the shoes) so they can walk the same steps as people of bygone eras while listening to the ambient audio recreating the time period. I can see this as being a huge tourist activity for the historical and location-fan minded type.

Re: India’s Answer to Google Glass: The Smartshoe

#63
post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting - does the motor run all the time, or in intervalls?

> does the motor run all the time, or in intervalls? It runs all the time. I built one of these using a kit from Sensebrige. The results were not as good as I had hoped.

What was your issue with it? I have a bad sense of orientation, and I thought about building my own version of it, theirs is too large imho.

Also, running a motor continually seems like it would drain the battery really quick.

Re: India’s Answer to Google Glass: The Smartshoe

#64
This is an absolutely brilliant idea.

Wearables like Glass solve the problem of people having their faces glued to their phones by gluing their phones to their faces. And people use their faces for social interaction. So face-mounted tech is immediately noticeable and obvious, especially around eyes and ears. Hence, the nickname "glasshole".

Vibration is not new. I recall seeing video of a belt fitted with multiple vibration motors that always vibrated the motor closest to true north. This allowed blindfolded people to navigate across the test field to a predetermined destination.

This puts the same concept into the least noticeable spot on your body: the soles of your feet. Shoes are nearly impossible to forget when you go out, and we are already well conditioned to tolerate wearing them.

Obviously, it has lower sensory resolution than a visual or audible interface, but it is going through a completely different channel. Over-eye or in-ear wearables have to compete for bandwidth in already cluttered channels. Tactile wearables have a wide open channel, just begging to be used.

Add in an interface for foot-gesture inputs, and you could do a lot more than just navigation and pedometry.

Re: India’s Answer to Google Glass: The Smartshoe

#65
Why is it titled India's answer to Google Glass? Possible explanations: 1. The editors know that Indians are susceptible to jingoistic patriotism. "Wow Indians did this? Really?" 2. The editors think that Indians as a collective are not a piece of the flat world and their accomplishments are more surprising than routine. 3. Now that China has pulled itself close to developed nations, India represents "The Third World Asian Country".

I am not offended. IMO all of the above are true. But I guess it can't be too hard to refer a product by the company name rather than the whole nation.

Re: India’s Answer to Google Glass: The Smartshoe

#66
post #29
post #18

Shoes are a fantastic idea, and highly overlooked. The biggest hurdle to wearable technology is the friction required to convince a consumer to wear it. We all wear shoes. We don't all wear glasses or watches. Some of us even wear contacts to avoid wearing glasses. The Smartshoe doesn't seem as competitive to Google Glass as it is complimentary. Glasses have a better appeal for visual media capture because you can se…

It also needs to be useful on a relatively regular basis otherwise there's a dissonance between added value and the additional cost. For these shoes to be useful you need to be walking somewhere you don't know the way to, without someone with you who knows the way with you, for a distance that makes you not want to take your phone out to check you're going the right way occasionally. I don't think I've been in that s…

Well, just one person here.. but I have this problem fairly regularly, which may be because I live in NYC and frequently go to new places within the city. I'm not sure how large the market would be, but I suspect there are others like me.

Re: India’s Answer to Google Glass: The Smartshoe

#68
post #18

Shoes are a fantastic idea, and highly overlooked. The biggest hurdle to wearable technology is the friction required to convince a consumer to wear it. We all wear shoes. We don't all wear glasses or watches. Some of us even wear contacts to avoid wearing glasses. The Smartshoe doesn't seem as competitive to Google Glass as it is complimentary. Glasses have a better appeal for visual media capture because you can se…

Shoes are a fantastic idea if the hardware does not degrade its quality.

Bad shoes can turn any waking into a nightmare. Much worse than becomming lost and needing to ask for directions.

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