AthleticShoes
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Apple applies for patent on 'smart shoe' sensor
If an Apple patent application is any indication, athletic shoes may start telling us when they need replacing. In a patent filed back in July 2012, Curtis Vock and Perry Youngs are listed as the inventors of a "shoe wear-out sensor, body-bar sensing system, unitless activity assessment and associated methods," with Apple Inc. as the assignee. Vock is an intellectual property lawyer with Lathrop & Gage, a law firm based in Boulder, Colo. The idea of the patent is to warn users of athletic shoes when a "critical wear level has been reached," in which case the shoe may not supply support and could injure the wearer. While the patent may never end up being used for a real Apple product, it's fascinating to see the company is looking outside of the gadgets we use everyday to the "internet of things" like shoes. A full PDF of the patent filing is available for download here.
Adidas Social Media Barricade shoe concept moves tweets to the track (video)
Adidas is known for making connected shoes -- but never quite as linked-up as a Nash Money concept making its appearance late into the London Olympics. The Social Media Barricade weaves the guts of a phone and a basic two-line LCD into a running shoe, letting the footwear take Twitter updates very literally on the run through a public account. Even the signature Adidas stripes change their hue through remote control. Before anyone gets visions of athletes checking congratulatory tweets after the 100-meter sprint, just remember that it's an idea rather than a production blueprint: although Adidas is quick to call the Social Media Barricade the "future of athlete connectivity," the only athletes putting eyes on a pair right now are those swinging by the Olympics' media lounge for interviews. Knowing this, we can still imagine some future shoes padding runners' egos at the finish line during the 2016 Rio games.
