This article was taken from the September 2013 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
Smartphones can alert you to deals in nearby shops -- and now your shoes can do the same. Supershoes are flexible insoles, developed by Dhairya Dand in the Information Ecology team of MIT's Media Lab, with an embedded microprocessor that uses Bluetooth to communicate with your smartphone. The accompanying app draws down information (weather data, perhaps, or restaurant reviews), and, by monitoring your daily routine and your online activity, learns your tastes.
It also allows you to program in your emotional state -- whether you're feeling sociable, say. This information can help the app to recommend places -- and direct you there, all via the soles. Three hypertactile actuators "tickle" each foot, telling you to turn right or left. You can tap your toes on a touchpad in the sole to accept a recommendation, or swipe your phone screen. "By using smartphones and apps I found myself missing out on the beauty of wandering around," says Dand. "There's nothing better than shoes for solving this -- they're the interface between your body and the ground, they're how you connect to the city."
Future iterations will communicate with other pairs, allowing you to find friends in crowds, or meet people with the same interests; they'll also detect mood via Q Sensors to improve their suggestions.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
