My shoes are talking to me
A few weeks ago I visited Paris for a few days. Before I left I downloaded an offline map of Paris in Google Maps. So I don’t need internet to search my way through Paris. When I was in Paris I spent half a day watching my phone screen searching for the right way to go. But if I go to a city I don’t want to look at my phone all day anymore. And the solution is right here:
What? European budget airline EasyJet designed Sneakairs, those are shoes which can guide your way through a city by vibrating the shoe in which direction to go. It is still a prototype version. Users set their destination on an app they can download in the Appstore or Playstore for android. The device in the shoes is connected with your phone via Bluetooth. The system sends a vibration to your left or right foot depends on the direction you need to follow. Two consecutive vibrations means a missed or a wrong turn. But you can also choose to ‘get lost’ and then the system recalculate the route for you. Once the destination is reached you will feel three consecutive vibrations in both shoes. The prototype has been tested in the streets of Barcelona by a group of walkers and they haven’t checked their phones once. The airline has not yet confirmed when the shoes will be available. EasyJet is really busy with making traveling easier for their travellers. For example last year they invented a new app called ‘Mobile Host’ and it gives the travellers more information about their luggage and it can lead you to your gate etc.
Why? Why do I think this is cool? And which trends do I see coming back in this idea? First of all as I mentioned before, in Paris I was staring at the phone screen constantly while missing out all of the beautiful views in Paris. So by this invention this problem will be solved. I don’t have to look at my phone for finding my wan in another city. Wearing these shoes I also won’t look like that stupid tourist struggling with my phone or a map to find its way. So if we look at human movement this will be the future of how people travel through a city. And not only human movement is a theme I see coming back in this but also wearable technologies. Because these shoes work with technology. And of course sustainable cities is a trend I see coming back here. People don’t want to look at their phones all day while traveling a new city. These shoes can give you the whole experience of traveling. You can look around as much as you want without getting lost.
http://www.wired.com/2016/05/easy-jet-sneakairs-smart-shoes/