Google's shoes: Shoes which can talk and motivate!!

The internet giant and unofficial owners of the universe, Google, recently unveiled a pair of talking shoes at the South by Southwest Interactive Conference, and we have to say, they’re kind of cool.

What are Google’s talking shoes?

"I am killing you."

So said the tired foot to the head!

This is just one scenario I envisage with the latest -- and perhaps most imaginative -- product coming out of Google.

This Adidas sneaker which talks  enjoys a microcontroller on the tongue. I know many people who could certainly use one of those.It has so many many technical goodies whose result is that it monitors all the things that are happening down below and then expresses them to you in words. Yes, through a microphone.

But there's more. As the nice Google spokesperson described it, the shoe uses data to adopt "a personality," something Google strives for in all of its products.

If you start running and the shoe has an athletic personality, it will cheer you on. But if it has a lazy personality, it will get upset with you for being athletic.

There is something vividly beautiful about wearing a shoe that is, at heart, as substitute lover.

It has a personality. It whines, it nags, it praises. And, unlike your lover, the only thing you need to feed it is data.

The technology:

Google's talking shoe includes an accelerometer, gyroscope and Bluetooth capability to connect to your smartphone, so that it can measure your activity levels and movement; the speaker on the shoe allows it to spit out one of 250 pre-recorded phrases that either praise your hustle and bustle or rag on your laziness. The shoe's voice was designed to be a bit snarky and sarcastic and to have a memorable personality-- perhaps in homage to a certain assistant on another company's smartphone.

The connected shoe isn't a totally novel idea, of course: Nike has long made sneakers with sensors in them to measure your workouts. A shoe with a personality, however, that actually speaks to you in a human voice, is a bit of a novelty.

The company was letting visitors try out its new talking-shoe concept, with a custom-made microcontroller (along with assorted SparkFun pieces) on the tongue of a pair of Adidas. Above that is a circular speaker that provides feedback based on your movement (detected by internal accelerometers and gyroscopes, along with pressure sensors in the sole). The shoe will then give you aural feedback, based on how you're moving.

So, why hack up a perfectly nice pair of black high-tops? Google's giving the shoes character, using Bluetooth to sync up to your smartphone and "using a series of 'if and statements,' to give your shoes personality." So, some shoes will laud you for getting off the couch and others will encourage your lollygagging.

And when will I be able to wear it?

 Again, while the company has the blessings of Adidas, we're not going to see this on the market as such, though the Google spokesperson we talked to told us the company may be looking to open-source the information, so you can just make your own.

To let you get a feel for how they look in action, here is a video showcasing Talking shoes on Youtube.