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A Running Shoe For Agent 86?
manganese4 writes "The New York Times (free reg. req.) is reporting on a new shoe from Adidas that contains a ~10KHz chip capable of changing the shoe's characteristics to meet the runner's need. From the article:
'Adidas executives say the shoe is no gadget-dependent gimmick... Each second, a sensor in the heel can take up to 20,000 readings and the embedded electronic brain can make 10,000 calculations, directing a tiny electric motor to change the shoe. The goal is to make the shoe adjust to changing conditions and the runner's particular style while in use. The shoes will have push-button controls, light-emitting diodes to display settings and an instruction manual on a CD-ROM that will advise wearers on, among other things, how to change the battery after every 100 hours of use.' I wonder if the CPU can be overclocked?"
I buy my shoes at Wal-Mart. These sound more expensive than $6 a pair.
But does it run linux?
.. the stench of a Beowulf cluster of these things....
You can't tune the thing while running? That is so lame.
Does anyone else thing it's a bad idea to throw these sorts of components into something that's going to take a few hundred thousand 100kg (or more depending on speed/weight/height) impacts?
Find out about my new childrens book: SS Death Camp Criminal Batallion Go To Monte Carlo For The Massacre
These running fanatics have a screw loose. They spend a fortune on these fancy shoes looking to improve their perfomance. Yet they always get beaten by some guy from Africa that's never even owned a pair of shoes.
Still no cure for cancer...
In things like track competitions or marathons, should such 'active' measures be allowed? I mean, what if I had a pair of smart shoes that were attached to a motorcycle...
Job? I don't have time to get a job! Who will sit around and bitch about being broke and unemployed then?
Human feet have thousands upon thousands of sensor sites and they feed back information to the brain which can process all the information in parallel and recognize even the slightest change in environment and adjust accordingly.
So bare feet are better than these new shoes.
I have been pwned because my
Rather than kids tying another's laces together, well have them hacking in and turning someone soles rock hard for the day.
Couldnt they have talked to Swatch or something? Why the hell should a running shoe need a battery? I mean, that's the whole point.. you RUN in them! Kinetic energy, right there! FREE for the taking!
-- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
Assuming that is the clock rate, 20,000 readings and 10,000 calculations per second does sound a bit excessive, especcialy as the calculations must involve at least 2 readings.
And if you thought that was boring you obviously havn't read my Journal ;-)
No registration required.
microsoft has nothing to do with the OS in these shoes, or soon we'll see people running of bridges because their shoe (crashed, got hacked into) bah
Please. I mean, this is like saying the Reebok Pump was "analog technology capable of generating an infinite number of support positions." GIMMICK. Nothing more. But get a famous basketball player to endorse it, charge $200 for it, and it'll fly off the shelves.
Stupid people make stupid things profitable.
I've only ever seen passive electronics in sports equipment; this shoe won't be legal in most professional sports.
So if it crashes, do you trip and fall? Boy, that'd suck on stairs...
Hexy - a strategy game for iPhone/iPod Touch
Here
Oh well, at least it would not take long to BOOT!
Has anybody started a Linux port yet?
And if you thought that was boring you obviously havn't read my Journal ;-)
Frankly, I'd rather have a "Cone of silence" to put certain people in...
And since phone booths are going out of style, I guess we need a cellphone that can also act as a hidden trapdoor to our lair?
So... a 10KHz chip can make 10,000 calculations per second? Sure, as long as all those calculations take only 1 clock cycle each. And what good is a sensor that can take 20,000 samples per second if the CPU isn't powerful enough to even make use of all of them?
Honestly, what's the point? If the goal is to change the shoe characteristics, why not include a little adjustable screw so the wearer can manually change various tensions? This sounds like a lousy solution in search of a problem, and a badly marketed one at that.
Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
for all who don't/can't register:
u/p: nytslashdot
Why not have some kind of pump (I mean, you have a cushion anyways) to recharge them?
HOW'S MY POSTING? CALL 1-800-POSTING
Make it solid state and durable. You should have no problems with something that amounts to little more than a processor, battery, some flash memory and some sensors.
There are far more stressful environments for computers in military and industrial settings.
Of all items of clothing, said Rob Enderle, the shoe is a logical one to be a focus of wearable technology. Unlike articles of clothing that must be washed or cleaned, shoes present a more stable place to add useful electronics, he said.
Mr. Enderle has obviously never been in the vicinity of _my_ shoes.
SIG: TAKE OFF EVERY 'CAPTAIN'!!
That would come in usefull so it doesn't get stuck. Maybe the motor can adjust for the perfect anal trajectory?
so, if you run a marathon in this shoe while it is overclocked do you have to run faster and end up with a slower time?
If you're running forward!
No one's going to buy a shoe you can't walk backwards in.
I have been pwned because my
Does it go on the sides like a modern version of the chariot in Ben Hur?
I totally agree with this. Think of the ways they could have produced power from this. piezo-electric with the vibrations and stomping on the ground (which would probably absorb some of the shock anyway), stirling (or whatever creates changes energy between the heat difference) due to the foot getting hot (which may cool it down some), the swatch thing (a swinging weight with attached magnet to charge a capacitor).
You know what really would have been badass. If they added bluetooth capability between it and a pda so you can track your workouts wirelessly. Then create a bluetooth heart rate monitor with a watch that would intergrate the entire system. You could modify your step and check your heart rate at the same time. I should start working on the patent...
how long before you have to PATCH them?
:p
shameless, I know
Geez, the ONE time the foot icon would actually make sense, it is not even used by /. editors...
I guess I know where to stick my foot next time...
Music is the language of the heart, the sound of the soul. -Joe Satriani
The New York Times (free reg. req.) is reporting on a new condom from goatse.cx that contains a ~10KHz chip capable of changing the condom's characteristics to meet the user's need. From the article: 'Goatse.cx executives say the condom is no gadget-dependent gimmick... Each second, a sensor in the tip can take up to 20,000 readings and the embedded electronic brain can make 10,000 calculations, directing a tiny electric motor to change the shape. The goal is to make the condom adjust to changing conditions and the user's particular style while in use. The condom will have push-button controls, light-emitting diodes to display settings and an instruction manual on a CD-ROM that will advise wearers on, among other things, how to change the battery after every 100 hours of use.' I wonder if the CPU can be overcocked?
Obligitory reference to the movie "The computer wore tennis shoes"
If these have LEDs now, I'm sure the next 11 years will give researchers plenty of time to add power laces and a voice chip that sounds like Stephen Hawking's.
"...always new atoms but always doing the same dance, remembering what the dance was yesterday." -Richard Feynman
it was called the pump.. rememebr that.. pump it up.. then some kind would come by and press the release button.. ah memories...
The war with islam is a war on the beast
The war on terror is a war for peace
...until they understand the phrase "Go-go Gadget Skates!"
Of course, the correct reply for this is for a propeller to then come out of my hat, but I don't expect such perfection the first time around.
1. Change the battery every 100hrs????
2. Change the battery every 100hrs????
3. Change the battery every 100hrs????
4. Change the battery every 100hrs????
5. Change the battery every 100hrs????
6. Change the battery every 100hrs????
7. Change the battery every 100hrs????
8. Change the battery every 100hrs????
9. Change the battery every 100hrs????
10. Ahh screw it...
On another note, if Longhorn is gonna need a TB of disk space, what the hell will my shoes be running in 2008? I mean, does it really take that much power to run solitaire? Surely my shoes will require more, right? And furthermore, how long with that battery last?!?!
I'm going outside to run
Linux with kernel panic...
MadPenguin.org
All Day I Dream About Software
tiny electric motor? with a drivetrain? that wouldn't be my first thought... seems like they could make the sole out of something spongelike containing magnetorheological fluids and some electomagnets to vary the stiffness and sponginess
Overclocked, huh?
Where will this take us? Where ever it is, at least we will get there faster..
There's no business like shoe business.
Theoreticly, it would be possible, but you'd have to run faster, and if your heat dissipating socks lost contact with your shoes, they'd burn up.
they ask "Where do you want to go today?" when you boot (shoe?) up. This message has been brought to you by MicroShoe FooTware.
we're still stuck with replacing batteries.
if the processor doesn't use alot of power, I'd think if they include some sort of kinetic power generator, that it won't need batteries.
Wait up guys! My shoes have crashed...
'Thats they exact same thing a banana wrench monkey.'
Why is this news for nerds? Most Slashdotters need a chair that adjusts to their butt. :p
guess i missed the boat on that one.
Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
Ok, just tell me, who on god's green earth needs a f***ing microchip in their shoe to tell them how to run better?!? How in the world is there even a market for such a pointless product? Are there really that many zombies walking around in a marketing-induced stupor to actually *buy* this crap? Please let this fail. Please! I just want to have some hope that our species isn't totally doomed.
Did you notice that the other guy that posted this same thing got modded +2 funny? you got -1 offtopic. Ending your subject with a comma is bad ettiquite. n00b
May 6, 2004
The Bionic Running Shoe
By MICHEL MARRIOTT
ORTLAND, Ore.
SHOES have long been sensible. Now some are getting smart.
Smart enough, that is, to sense their environment electronically, calculate how best to perform in it, and then instantly alter their physical properties to adapt to that environment. In short, the designers say, shoes that can do whatever is needed to deliver improved athletic performance or just a better experience in the ancient poetry of feet striking the earth.
"The whole concept of an intelligent shoe would be great," said Christian DiBenedetto, a scientist here at the North American headquarters of Adidas. "Something that would change to your different needs during a marathon, or whatever you were doing, was always the fantasy."
Adidas, the 83-year-old German sporting-goods maker, is about to turn that fantasy into biomechanical reality in the form of a running shoe for men and women. Sleek and lightweight despite its battery-powered sensor, microprocessor and electric motor, the shoe, named 1, is expected to be in stores by December and will cost $250.
Adidas executives say the shoe is no gadget-dependent gimmick. Instead, its designers say it represents a leap forward in wearable technology. Each second, a sensor in the heel can take up to 20,000 readings and the embedded electronic brain can make 10,000 calculations, directing a tiny electric motor to change the shoe. The goal is to make the shoe adjust to changing conditions and the runner's particular style while in use.
"What we have, basically, is the first footwear product that can change its characteristics in real time," said Mr. DiBenedetto, who led the group that created the shoe, of its ability to adapt its cushioning as the wearer runs.
The shoes will have push-button controls, light-emitting diodes to display settings and an instruction manual on a CD-ROM that will advise wearers on, among other things, how to change the battery after every 100 hours of use.
Of all items of clothing, said Rob Enderle, a principal analyst for the Enderle Group in San Jose, Calif., the shoe is a logical one to be a focus of wearable technology. Unlike articles of clothing that must be washed or cleaned, shoes present a more stable place to add useful electronics, he said.
High-performance shoes, particularly those intended for athletic use, he said, have been augmented with an array of biomechanical enhancements, most of them involving compressed gases, shock absorbers and springs. But until now, he said, "I don't recall electronics being applied in shoes other than for lights."
From the start of development in early 2001, the shoe was viewed as an opportunity for Adidas to innovate, said Steve Vincent, who leads the company's worldwide innovation team of about 50 people. Mr. DiBenedetto's group is one of seven in Germany, Italy and the United States that work in such secrecy that the units' names are not mentioned to outsiders. To do otherwise, Mr. Vincent said from his corner office overlooking the Willamette River, "would just give away the farm."
In the hypercompetitive sporting-goods industry, of which the $15 billion sneaker market is only a part, innovation is seen more and more as a great differentiator. And while other companies, like Nike in nearby Beaverton, Ore., have made a name for themselves with new products, Mr. Vincent acknowledged that Adidas had not established a firm reputation as an innovator in the American market.
"We look at innovation as the fuel for our company," he said. "We are committed to deliver at least one new impactful technology or innovation every year."
Among the first of those products was ClimaCool, a line of athletic shoes and garments introduced in 2002 that use sophisticated materials and strategically placed venting to relieve the wearer's heat and perspiration. Others include a soccer ball that is bonded rather than hand-sewn for better durability and truer flight, and a shoe engine
Each second, a sensor in the heel can take up to 20,000 readings and the embedded electronic brain can make 10,000 calculations, directing a tiny electric motor to change the shoe. The goal is to make the shoe adjust to changing conditions and the runner's particular style while in use.
20000 readings per second seems like more than enough... but the article makes no mention of how fast the motor can respond to that information. Does the shoe adjust each fraction of a second, changing as the foot hits the ground and pushes off, or does the shoe just adjust to gradual changes like the running surface? I somehow doubt it's the former, and if it's the latter, I don't see any advantage over buying a set of regular running shoes designed for a particular use. I can only see these shoes being useful if someone wants to wear the same pair on a large variety of courses (on road, off road, gravel, etc.) but in that case I wonder if that's the kind of person who wants to spend big bucks on their sneakers...
Once they start coming with a built in camera!Things will be looking up!
Boffoonery - downloadable Comedy Benefit for Bletchley Park
There was the pump and LA lights but by far the coolest and best feeling ones were Nike Air. Amuasingly enough some of the patents on AIR expired in 1997. So there could be competetiors using it now as well. AIR was really cool becasue of the science that went into the "AIR" (molecular weight of gases) and the nature of the container (semi permeable to real air.. which made it inflate itsef..sorta)..
The war with islam is a war on the beast
The war on terror is a war for peace
A serious runner would not use a shoe that absorbed any kinetic energy, doesn't matter if the amount is insignificant, the problem would be psychological, thinking that their shoe was taking power from their stride
Snowden and Manning are heroes.
"Each second, a sensor in the heel can take up to 20,000 readings and the embedded electronic brain can make 10,000 calculations, directing a tiny electric motor to change the shoe."
Forget that! I need a shoe that will sense the stink coming from my feet, and deodorize as needed!
Didn't we learn anything from Wallace and Grommit in The Wrong Trousers,?
-Mikey P
Any shoe that's not a perfect device is taking power from your stride, compressing and expanding the rubber etc.
The only issue is whether you can get some electricity, rather than just heat, from this work. And not increase the total work in a way that would be noticed.
There were some projects to make battery chargers in shoes I recall, but they couldn't actually get as much power as they had hoped from pezio. Springs probably would be noticed.
Has it been over a year since you last donated to the Electronic Frontier Foundation
100 hours of non-rechargable battery life?? That's like two week's worth of use! How many times do you think a user is going to bother changing the battery before giving up and just using them like any other shoe?
has optimization for stomping on ground while playing warcraft, and then quickly switching to walkjing to fridge for mountain dew. also takes into consideration extra fatness.
There's nothing Intelligent about Intelligent Design.
While it looks nice on paper, i doubt many sports organisations will allow this kind of thing. Although technology has worked for years outside the sports stadiums (computer engineerd ice skates for example, tailored to suit the athletes), this is just crossing a line imo. So Adidas is left to cater to yuppies so they can boast about their new shoes/ their new mile record whatever. Also, In Soviet Russia, Shoe monitors you!
Will wank off Linus Torvalds for fame.
My shoe kept crashing. Or I had to reboot the left one in Central Park. My shoe got owned.
I never said the amount of power taken would be physically meaningful, the problem would be in the runners minds, they would either refuse to wear it or be discouraged thinking power will be taken to power the unit, now if they included a "battery" and a notice that the battery would probably last longer than the shoe, and thus not to worry about it, along with a piezio or kinetic system the shoe would be great.
Snowden and Manning are heroes.
running in my, I mean, running Linux on my running shoes while I'm running Linux, er. you know.
Who moved my sig?
more importantly, when do i get to play bejeweled on the built-in communications device?
grey wolf
LET FORTRAN DIE!
Can I buy these shoes separatly from bundled Propeller hat (tm)?
...is: Dose it run Linux?
.....:::[Svante]:::.....
As soon as we start making inteligent shoes theologians will spend endless hours debating whether or not these shoes have souls.
There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
this is the gayest flamethread I've ever read on slashdot. congrats.
yeah, but can it run linux?
class he-man extends man!
They run Linux and are called Gnu/Shoes ?
... to go with the cheese that already grows there. Will the shoes talk to each other so that they adjust to the same settings? I foresee difficulty in getting your feet to handshake.
--- Yx3 = Delilah ---
But does it run Linux?
your shoes will be knocked out by the EMP? Yes, running away from that mushroom cloud will not help you.
I was wondering, aren't there natural or synthetic materials that would adapt to the shape of your foot as you walk, or run away from the fallout? It sounds a little bit gimicky to me, but I guess compared to springs in soles, it is progress to somewhere.
I know you are psychotic, but please make an effort.
"an instruction manual on a CD-ROM that will advise wearers on, among other things, how to change the battery"
So, does these shoes have a CD-ROM-drive built-in or how one is going to use the manual on the road? Because, it would suck quite royally ass if the BSOD strikes while running at the woods and you have to try to figure out, how to reboot your shoes. And what if the batteries run out? The only thing you can do with the manual is to wave it and hope someone equipped with pair of AAA-batteries (or whatever the shoes are using) and a laptop would see you (a laptop is required because the manual contains the instructions, how to change batteries).
These shoes will bring us to a totally new level of complexity of having some exercise.
Modifying the characteristics of the show seems questionable..
I think a lot of runners would find sensor data gathered from the shoe to be more valuable. It could help with performance improvements, to record your exact pace throughout a run. It could help to diagnose or even prevent injuries - if it could tell by the impact sensors that you are pronating this could help a lot. A big part of curing/preventing running injuries is diagnosing the problem.
Combine the sensor data with GPS tracking, and you've got an excellent training tool.
Now if you could get the shoe to run linux, and play OGG by tapdancing, THEN i'd be impressed!
That's roughly every ten days. Can you imagine changing your shoe batteries every ten days? And I thought it was bad changing my mouse batteries every four months...
-JemThe best part of the article was that they skinned a furby. It's nice to see that science has finally found a way around the animal testing ban.
I hope they did it while it was still alive.
If they'll put a sticker on the shoe saying that many furbies WERE harmed in the making of this product, I'll go buy one right away.
www.eissq.com/BandP.html Ball and Plate System. Amuse your friends. Crush your enemies.
We had gang bangers killing each other to steal their sneakers.
Now we've gotta worry about 1337 hackers using our sneakers for nefarious means. Could you imagine a war mod on these sneakers? They'd have to call it "War-Jogging" or somesuch.
Just because you can mod me down, doesn't mean you're right. Shoes for industry!
Now if they had wireless and GPS they could track your every move, which would presumably be back and forth between your house and a store that sells batteries.
IMO the best way to run is in bare feet, ie, no shoes. That probably sounds stupid to most people, but when your feet are bare, you get lots of feedback and built in reflexes from the nerves in your feet.
One importaint peice of feedback you get, is to NOT LAND ON YOUR HEELS. Your legs and feet are not designed for you land on your heels ( but shoe companys and podaitrists would like you to think so ). Instead, bare feet teaches you to land on the your forefoot ( eg, the area around the balls of your feet, just behind your toes ).
A forefoot strike has advantages over a heel strike, In breif;
Much less chance of injury ( eg shin splints, runners knee, etc ). However, during the first two weeks of learning to run with a proper forefoot strike style, I had sore calf musles. This was the 'numb, lactic acid, ive done more than I am used to' type soreness. This is something your calfs get used to quickly, just like how your biceps grow if you do bicep curls. The main reason for less inury is because the energy absorbed from each foot landing is stored/absorbed into muscles, rather than being driven up thru your bones and joints ( eg, ankle, knee, hip, and back ) as the case with heel strikes.
It stores energy form the landing, and releases it as your body moves over your foot plant.
It allows you to run with minimal vertial motion in the torso area, if your knees are bent when your foot touches the ground. As the body goes over the footplant, the leg straigtens, which keeps the torso in the same vertial position.
And as a result, you end up running very efficently. One obvious thing about running properly ( with a forefoot strike ) is that you become very very quiet, eg, almost completely silent in the feet department, quite the opposite of the comparitive racket most runners make with the enourmous heel striking boots.
Anyway, I think that the best running shoe is one which is simply like a protective layer of skin over your foot, IE, as close to running in bare feet as possible.
And the best way to run is in bare feet, but in rare cases ( or when your just starting out ), bare feet is not always practical ( eg, sharp gravel, areas that are likely to have hidden sharp things ), but 80% of places I find I can run barefoot with no problems.
If you have injurys / problems with running, then perhaps have a look at www.runningbarefoot.org or www.posetech.com, and learn how to run properly ( with a forefoot strike style ), and do not rely on shoes to do the running for you.
Imagine a Beowulf Cluster of these!!!.... (Just for kicks of course....)
My Favourite Meme
Next, the'll build in a security system which
checks the wearers DNA and make sure it matches.
If it dosen't, the shoes will twist and contort,
breaking the wearer's feet and causing severe
agony
(I remember a cartoon that had something just
like this, but it was some special pair of gloves. I can't remember what it was....)
A Running Shoe For Agent 86?
I saw no mention of a telephone in this shoe.
Has the submitter ever watched Get Smart?
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
I can just imagine these killing people with Pacemakers out for their daily walk with their poodle...
Why would I want a computer with a smelly foot on it?
Making the moon less necessary since 1998.
...does it run(no pun intended) Linux?
This device could use some major improvements, and I think we all agree from the postings.
100 hours battery life, the device can be modified to use kinetic engery. This would make for a nice senior design project in affective wearables. Any profs taking this project up?
GPS Tracking - Keep track of the user as they work out. Using RF to a cell phone the user is wearing, the data can be sent back to a base terminal as the cell phones cache is filled up. This could be especially useful for elderly wearers, so that their wearabouts can be tracked, and monitored by family members. If the family member stays in place for two long, emergency personal are notified, to alert of a possible fall. It could also be helpful to track children where abouts. Ethical issues are another debate.
Sensor technology - not only track foot position, but use the shoe to track Blood Volume Pressure (Oxygen levels and blood pressure) as well as pulse, and skin conductance. Sensors could be easily developed to be placed around the toes and or on the bottom of the foot, as the foot is slipped into the shoe.
Using heads up display technology or just simple voice from the cell phone again, the shoe could give feedback to the wearer as the runner is working out. It could track the workout and give progress updates. Custom programs can be added.
Make the shoe a power source for other wearable devices. It could be a convienent power source for other affective wearables and on board computing devices. All you would need to do is come out with a line of clothing that has simple fashionable connectors that would connect to the shoe to a pair of pants and or shirt so that other devices could be easily added. To allow for fast adoption, allow other manufactuers and universities to make devices for the clothing line. Give money to Sr. Design research projects that can produce wearable sensors to be used and later marketed.
The shoe, being in contact with the ground, can be used as a input / output device. When used in a car, it could direclty interface into the car, to provide the car with sensor data about the user. This could be accomplished with RF, but this is another posibility. It could give the user also other feedback about the car state, including any warnings through changing the shoes conformaty or shape, or provide a vibration. It could be easily used to keep a driver awake if he or she started to fall asleep at the wheel.
It can be used as another form of authentication. Using RF, the shoe can be used as a way of identifying the wearer based on walking styles and patterns of movement. Afater a series of steps, the user can be considered authenticated, and then can procede to move around a building with out using an ID card for entry, but instead, the shoe will transmit the user identity. Cars security, computer security, etc.
It can be used in hospitals as a tracking system for patients, nurses and doctors. It can be especially useful for ER nurses, for they are on their feet alot; so if it could detect stress in wearers legs, it could advise them to sit down and take a break. I know ER nurses can suffer from being on concrete floors for too long. This shoe can be a great help. My aunt could have used this.
This shoe though would pose a problem for airport security....have the manufactures thought about this, especially when it becomes more common place...
Keeping track of little kids is big problem for class field trips. This could be used to help enforce the buddy system. If uniforms were a must at school, these could be part of them.
If hte shoes could provide enough curent, they could be used as a light source, so that when ladies are trying to get to their cars at night, they could use the shoes as a way to light their way. If modules like these were provided for the shoes, the sales could take off quickly.
Have programs that can be used to help correct technique in sporting events. Baseball, basketball, soccer, Make a
... as "rebooting" will come to mean "changing your shoes".
Since this is the standard suggestion offered by MS-support ("have you tried rebooting?"), here's a job that any MacDonalds reject can competently fulfill. And at MacDonalds pay levels, there's no danger of these newly created support jobs going to India.
Yes, but... Linus can run with it? Oh... Wait...
... but does it run linux ?
With that aggravating beauty, Lulu Walls.
SOCKS!
[ducks]
Last thing i need, another major corporation trying to invade my sole... ;)
But at least they will go to heaven as it turns out that Shoes have Souls (Soles).
I wonder how long it will be until these get modded for card counting or roulette predictions. Will casinos require your shoes to be checked-in?
. ht ml
http://physics.ucsc.edu/people/eudaemons/layout
DeMe
not interesting, 100% accurate
Piezoelectric crystals would be better than a battery as I doubt a shoe's CPU needs quite that much processing power and during use the shoe is constantly being compressed and uncompressed. Lets see how many states in a state diagram would this shoe need?
No one's going to buy these unless they have a built-in camera, replaceable 'mood' covers, can play MP3s and have polyphonic ringtones. Sheesh - get with the action marketing boys and girls.
AT&ROFLMAO
I wonder if the CPU can be overclocked?
To the term hotfoot.
They make piezo-electric actuators - does that count? (no parts move _relative_ to the others - the material stiffens or bends in response to current). Linky
Bad enough now they think open toe'd sandals could hide something.. wait till those rent-a-cops see a micro computer, battery and wires!
with only a 10khz chip I guess I'm not going to be able to run Longhorn on my shoes after all.
I should start working on the patent...
But you won't.
Regards,
Reality.
i wonder what kind of altgorithm they'll be using to knot the laces
"There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
How many 'serious runners' would wear a shoe like this? In fact, Im sure all the owners of such shoes will be geeks or plain have-it-all sheeple. Do we really need to add an electronics-factory waste stream to the already terrible running shoe industry? Do people really want to pollute ourselves of the planet soooo badly that they must have useless crap *in* their shoes? Hell, why not look at a little more responsible and appropriate footwear.
Adidas sucks.
I'm waiting to read the story about the guy who died from electrocution cos he ran through a puddle in these things...
I'll turn into a supernova and burn up everything. Well I'll turn into a black little hole and you'll turn into string.
So it runs at 10KHz, and yet it makes 20K samples a second.
Did anyone else spot that this is either
1) an reporting error
2) a marketing lie
3) a very bad design fault
This would be really impressive if the power will be taken from the kinetic of the person who wears the shoe. This is nowadays std-technology for watches, so why don't they use similar tricks for their shoes? The energy produced by a walking human being above 50kg should be more then enough.
Ok now can they make boxers that will "adjust" for you? That would really be useful.
They already have various devices that track how fast your running. The Timex Speed + Distance System. Which sort of works like a pedometer. It tracks heart rate, and pace, and saves it for you to be downloaded to your computer.
And one of the GPS companies have a similar device based upon GPS but it does not track HR. But I'm sure that will be added at a later time.
Matt
I wonder if the shoe wearer will get overclocked
I'm sure the first release will have iss-shoes. Ouch.
Having run a number of marathons in my life I can't really see any need for this. For one thing, shoes are generally replaced every 500 miles or so regardless of whether they look that worn, but also when one runs this often he or she understands exactly what the foot needs.
I, for example, have recently switched shoes after five years with one type, and moving felt like I was joining a cult at first.
We runners don't like change, you see.
Runners, and anybody who exercises aerobically, enjoy better health than people who don't.
Look at US Patent 6,493,652. This is a device marketed by PED Inc (www.fitsense.com) called Foot Pod. They seem to have the patent pretty tight. I work for a lab which is trying to develop a GPS like navigation device for vision impaired people which will work indoors and I was working on the exact patent you are talking about - but looks like there already has been a good bit of work done towards that!! :)
Of course, if this shoe is at all successful in taking up the stresses, I'd be approaching Adidas next to build the 'In-shoe pedometer' for us
Rob Enderle has obviously never heard of ChampionChips.
True, they are not an integral part of the shoe, but they are very definitely attached to the shoe, and they are electronic, and they are not lights.
(In a nutshell, a ChampionChip is like a little RFID tag for running racers. Every runner wears on, and the race course has detectors at fixed intervals, so that your friends can see when you've got half-way through the marathon, etc.)
I for one welcome our new evil robotic shoe overlords.
"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." --Kurt Vonnegut
This is nothing more than a government inspired tracking system. *dons foil hat*
We'd better start looking at the moon carefully to make sure that the Dolman-Sax Shoe corporation hasn't been beaming Adidas headquarters with the shoe intensifier ray. Unless we want to evolve into mean old angry birds who live in statues ears thirteen miles above the ground. Chips in shoes? I feel this is a sign of the end times.
Who is Twirlip of the Mists?
It was my favorite show when I was younger and watched Nick at Nite regularly. :-) Not to mention the shoe phone was frickin' awesome!
-Rob
Marriage doesn't have to suck!
The care instructions I have read on every pair of running shoes I have ever owned has said quite clearly not to wash them (anymore than an wipe down).
Your post made me think about the 100 hour batery life thing... the life expectancy for most running shoes is about 300-500 miles depending on the shoe and the person in it... To get 100 hours out of your shoe, you would have to be going really slow to need to change the batteries before changing your shoe. 12 minute miles, 15 is walking briskly!
Incidently I get about 6 months per 2 pair of running shoes (I wear a different pair every other day Mizuno Wave Renegades, or Nike Air Durhams, it's a good thing to do if you get cronic injuries). I am really hard on shoes... I am 205 lbs and I run 30-45 miles/week, depending on whether or not I am getting ready for a marathon (done 2 so far).
Keep running!
TamMan2000
"I'll have a Guinness, no wait, make that a Coors Light" -Grad student I work with, who shall remain anonymous...
it runs NetBSD?
Stop with the clapping, you'll kill us all!
When I saw this article in the NYTimes this morning, I first asked myself would you be able to underclock it to get a better than 100-hour lifetime of the batteries. I mean, who wants to change their shoes' batteries every four days?
The previous sig has been removed due to
make me run faster?
Yeah, but can they run linux?
we only have 11 years left..
Give a whole new meaning to 'a running process'.
Here we go again!
This might come in useful during the winter, but the reduced battery life could leave you with cold feet...
GreyPoopon
--
Why is it I can write insightful comments but can't come up with a clever signature?
run faster than yours. but they have a heatsink.
You can't tune the thing while running? That is so lame.
Actually, you can tune it, but it involves a complex pattern of hops, skips, and jumps.
As I RTFA all I could think about was some geek overclocking his shoes, putting them on and running about 6 steps before screaming in pain "AHHHHHHH.... SHIT... IT B U R N S!!!! AHHHH"
hehehehehe... Then I started thinking about water cooling and had the thought "man, I sure hope these things are water proof..."...
I could see geeks buying them for the hack potential (if any), but not for any actual use... Most geeks I know run when chased, and that's it. I could see the shoes sitting in a lab hooked up to a robotic leg with about 600 sensors hooked up to it so they can determine that it actually does nothing, post the info, and get DMCA'd by Nike or whomever is making this clusterfuck...
The old Superstar II's..I'm not pop and locking in those ugly ass moon shoes ;-p...
I'm not sure where the 10Khz figure came from; I didn't see it in the article.
If the clock speed is truly 10Khz, how does the CPU perform 10K calculations? Even with one instruction per cycle, there is some overhead in that there have to be other instructions for io, etc. Also, how would a 10Khz CPU handle 20K readings from sensors? To be fair, the article says "up to" 20K readings from sensors.
Additionally, 10Khz is ridiculously low, even by 1960 standards. Perhaps 10Mhz? Even the cheapest PIC is in the megahertz range.
Other quotes from Rob Enderle, just so you can put this into context:
--
E_NOSIG
... soon we'll have shoes joined together at the heels, too.
Environmentalism is the new Victorianism. Everyone ties on a green corset and pretends we're virtuous.
Few years ago, some guys build a fake potato-powered Web server with potatoes (http://totl.net/Spud/).
Now immagine a real shoe-powered Web server!
google link here
7680 MB Disk,192 GB Transfer,
At the airport:
"Ow, let go of me!!! Really, it's just a shoe, is just a g-dda-mn running shoe!!!"
"Sure, sure mister - explain your so called 'shoe' to Mr. Ashcroft. Now get into the back of the black unmarked van."
It could be possible that the amount of energy taken by an energy converted is less work than slugging a battery around.
Talk about picky though.
-Reid
'Hi there! :
It looks like you're trying to run a marathon!
Do you want to
a. Increase speed.
b. Increase comfort.
c. Engage the Afterburners!
ACME Computer Shoes - where have I seen these before?
Beep! Beep! Zoooommm!!!!!!!!!
The Max Smart jokes and GPS mentions made me think of something. If we're putting electronics in shoes, then here's what I would like to see:
Kids love those shoes that have flashing lights. OK fine, put electronics in shoes such that they can also connect into the cell network (using whatever they do to ping the towers) to allow lost or abducted children to be tracked down by the authorities. Sure, if they take off their shoes (or they are removed for them) then you lose track. But at least you would have the last location of the shoe.
Yeah I know, we Americans worry too much. But I still think it would be a cool hack.
Guess I better go write up the patent application now...
=^..^= all your rodent are belong to us
I got enough chips in my head, don't need `em in my feet... The Goveroiuasopdjfoa, dang it, the Governmopiajeopidfjadf, crap... I may tell you about it later when the Goverlka;sdjfoiad isn't messing with me...
I think Marty McFly already wore these sneakers in BTTF2. You know, the ones that had the automatic-inflation feature. Of course, they were Nikes.
This definitely tears it; Robert Zemeckis was a $#@!ing genius visionary. can't wait for the "Mr. Fusion."
-joe.
"You know what really would have been badass. If they added bluetooth capability between it and a pda so you can track your workouts wirelessly. Then create a bluetooth heart rate monitor with a watch that would intergrate the entire system. You could modify your step and check your heart rate at the same time. I should start working on the patent..."
Good idea, maybe Nike will come up with something?
"Correct! You may press the button now."
"Yay! Ooh, that feels nice!"
Does understanding that HH reference make me a geek?
"The amount of intelligence on this planet is a constant. The population is growing." -Cole's Axiom
I would only use something like this for a road race, and the motor would make it much too heavy for flats.
Sure, you can overclock the suckers, but only if you run in the rain to keep them water-cooled...
Your Servant, B. Baggins
- I wonder what OS they're running
- Next big OS: ShoeNIX
- I guess that gives new meaning to boot loader
- You may get electrocuted by putting your foot in your mouth.
- You can now hack your shoe to expand as you shove it up your boss'
....Uhm....
- In communist Russia, shoes run you!
- I don't have shoes you insensitive clod...
God knows where this coversation will....run...--<Mike>--
so will they dry themselves when wet?
The purpose of life is to find the purpose of life.
I'm sure some engineer mentioned these features, but then they realized they actually wanted to get this product out the door.
What do you mean my sig is repetitive? What do you mean my sig is repetitive? What do you mean....
Just wait until you try to play Dance Dance Revolution on it
I wonder if the CPU can be overclocked..
Yeah, you just run faster.
Um, Is that a Furby sittig next to the shoes in the first picture?
Clothing. Can you imagine what would come out of the ability to change characteristics in clothing? Automatically cleans its self. Shrinks, or grows, to fit anyone (one size fits all...) changes colour depending on what you want. goes from a teeshirt to a long sleeved shirt. Man That would be quite wierd.
i think is mainly because the running might not be periodic therefore some energy storing device must be needed, ya know, cause the so called "chip" has to be a DSP and those run on DC voltage. then some capacitor or battery is needed anyway.
"The quality of life is inversely proportional to the number of keys on your keyring."
Springs probably would be, if they were springlike, but a hydrolicized switched wouldn't. Anything with a level or rocker motion that had a bit of fluidity to it would probably work nicely.
Why wouldn't they use kinetic energy instead of or with the battery? They are shoes, right. I mean there are watches that can do it, why not computer shoes too? I guess they probably have proprietary batteries and that's how they are gonna make a decent profit by selling batteries way over cost.
... go go gadget adidas!
_____ Ian
Should a runner be allowed to obtain an advantage during the race by using such electronic devices in shoes?
This is one platform that's just BEGGIN' for Linux!!!
Go! Go! Gadget Shoes!
Have you read my journal today?