94extreme Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 Engineer: GPS Shoes Make People FindableEmail this Story Feb 9, 5:04 AM (ET) By KELLI KENNEDY (AP) Issac Daniel sits in his office wearing sneakers he designed, which include a tiny Global... Full Image MIAMI (AP) - Isaac Daniel calls the tiny Global Positioning System chip he's embedded into a line of sneakers "peace of mind." He wishes his 8-year-old son had been wearing them when he got a call from his school in 2002 saying the boy was missing. The worried father hopped a flight to Atlanta from New York where he had been on business to find the incident had been a miscommunication and his son was safe. Days later, the engineer started working on a prototype of Quantum Satellite Technology, a line of $325 to $350 adult sneakers that hit shelves next month. It promises to locate the wearer anywhere in the world with the press of a button. A children's line will be out this summer. "We call it a second eye watching over you," Daniel said. It's the latest implementation of satellite-based navigation into everyday life - technology that can be found in everything from cell phones that help keep kids away from sexual predators to fitness watches that track heart rate and distance. Shoes aren't as easy to lose, unlike phones, watches and bracelets. The sneakers work when the wearer presses a button on the shoe to activate the GPS. A wireless alert detailing the location is sent to a 24-hour monitoring service that costs an additional $19.95 a month. In some emergencies - such as lost child or Alzheimer's patient - a parent, spouse or guardian can call the monitoring service, and operators can activate the GPS remotely and alert authorities if the caller can provide the correct password. But the shoe is not meant for non-emergencies - like to find out if a teen is really at the library or a spouse is really on a business trip. If authorities are called and it is not an emergency, the wearer will incur all law enforcement costs, Daniel said. Once the button is pressed, the shoe will transmit information until the battery runs out. While other GPS gadgets often yield spotty results, Daniel says his company has spent millions of dollars and nearly two years of research to guarantee accuracy. The shoe's 2-inch-by-3-inch chip is tucked into the bottom of the shoe. (AP) Issac Daniel shows sneakers he designed with a tiny Global Positioning System embedded in the shoe... Full Image Experts say GPS accuracy often depends on how many satellites the system can tap into. Daniel's shoe and most GPS devices on the market rely on four. "The technology is improving regularly. It's to the point where you can get fairly good reflection even in areas with a lot of tree coverage and skyscrapers," said Jessica Myers, a spokeswoman for Garmin International Inc., a leader in GPS technology based in Kansas. "You still need a pretty clear view of the sky to work effectively." Daniel, who wears the shoes when he runs every morning, says he tested the shoes on a recent trip to New Jersey. It tracked him down the Atlantic Coast to the Miami airport and through the city to a specific building. The company also has put the technology into military boots and is in talks with Colombia and Ecuador, he said. But retail experts say the shoe might be a tough sale to brand-conscious kids. "If (parents) can get their kids to wear them, then certainly there is a marketplace. But I think the biggest challenge is overcoming ... the cool marketplace," said Lee Diercks, managing director of New Jersey-based Clear Thinking Group, an advisory firm for retailers. The GPS sneakers, available in six designs, resemble most other running shoes. The two silver buttons - one to activate and one to cancel - are inconspicuous near the shoelaces. The company is selling 1,000 limited-edition shoes online and already has orders for 750, Daniel said. Parents who buy the pricey kicks don't have to worry about their kids outgrowing them fast. This fall, the company is unveiling a plug-and-wear version that allows wearers to remove the electronics module from their old shoes and plug it into another pair of Daniel's sneaks. http://apnews.excite.com/article/20070209/D8N64ESG0.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9sar Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 yea... these will be great in the city to find the asshat who steals your expensive sneekers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harbinger Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 Great, now I have to start wearing tin-foil shoes too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trainman Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 Or these for Pezzy and Slick (and maybe some others ) Forget Me Not Panties "forget-me-not panties will help protect the women in your life! These panties will monitor the location of your daughter, wife or girlfriend 24 hours a day, and can even monitor their heart rate and body temperature." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navygz19 Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 (edited) http://apnews.excite.com/article/20070209/D8N64ESG0.html so? I have a chip implanted in my cat's neck that **could** be used as a GPS tracking device should she become lost, as she's an indoor cat, but nobody wrote an article about that Maybe I should submit it to the AP so it can be published... And when I worked for Nissan and sold cars I also sold a few LoJack systems...darn it, big brother again!! :o You're funny, mz Edited February 9, 2007 by navygz19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdpathy Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 Kind of sounds like that new digital angel thing Digital Angel include identification and monitoring of pets, humans, fish and livestock through our patented implantable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vsicks Pathy Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 so? I have a chip implanted in my cat's neck that **could** be used as a GPS tracking device should she become lost Who told you that crap? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Extreme90path Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 forget-me-not panties ... man what happened to trust. Holy crap. That just seems to be to the extreme.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navygz19 Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 (edited) Who told you that crap? It's a recognizable chip by any scanner that gives her name, where she's from as well as a phone number to call if found...it also carries her shot and rabies vaccination records. *shrug* not really GPS by any means, but hey, I live in Virginia and if she were to escape and travel to California, well hey, she'd be tracked... Edited February 10, 2007 by navygz19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Extreme90path Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 It's called an AVID chip, my cat has one too xD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navygz19 Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 yeah, that's the one :idea: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 Yeah, I'll take the On Star, the Low Jack, the AVID, the GPS sneakers, the bar code tatoo on my wrist and the blue pill. I'll pay for it with my privacy, my rights and my testicles. Fair trade, right ?? Complete crap !! I grew up as a latch key kid not that long ago and did just fine. Funny, seems to carry over to adult life. I still don't need any of this crap ! If I have kids, they won't have this crap either. Nothing like safe little technoparasites, just what we want breeding (no brains required)... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navygz19 Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 What about those fashionable leashes you can get for your kids? Those were big in the 80's :cool2: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrailChaser Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 forget-me-not panties ... man what happened to trust. Holy crap. That just seems to be to the extreme.... That website is a spoof. You can't really tell whether your girlfriend is really cheating on you. Unless you call that show Cheater's. If you really want your GF's panties to tell you if she's cheating just take a couples of dirty ones to a lab for DNA analysis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted February 10, 2007 Author Share Posted February 10, 2007 so? I have a chip implanted in my cat's neck that **could** be used as a GPS tracking device should she become lost, as she's an indoor cat, but nobody wrote an article about that Maybe I should submit it to the AP so it can be published...And when I worked for Nissan and sold cars I also sold a few LoJack systems...darn it, big brother again!! :o You're funny, mz lol. neither you or B!? mentioned cell phones. well, none of that crap here, sorry. no chips in my pets, newest vehicle is the 94 pathfinder. track that beeotch! actually the guys idea isn't bad but things tend to awry in this country with these type of things. boo! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navygz19 Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 boo! lol I agree w/ you though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NismoSkyZ Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 I can pretty much assure you that there will be an option like the AVID trip for humans in the future. Hell, they could even make it madatory from birth without us knowing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Extreme90path Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 If that ever were to become "madatory" I will go into hiding or leave the country. There is no way, ever, I will have somthing like that implanted into me. Not because of a fear of the technology inside of me, but because of a right to privacy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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