Kate Hartman’s Energy Harvesting Sneakers

Kate Hartman is developing shoes which look strangely similar to the popular Heely’s but offer some unique differences. These shoes actually use the energy that the user produces through rolling on the wheels in the shoes soles to power a small microcomputer which resides in the sneaker. This microcomputer can communicate with the user through an led display on the top of the shoe which displays random directions to follow. Through arrows and text the microcomputer enables the owner to take the challenge of overcoming the various obstacles that the random directions point towards. The speed which the user travels at results in the directions appearing every 15 to 20 feet in a pattern similar to that of a drunkards walk.

I think this would make out to be a most entertaining and unique experience unlike anything I have ever seen. The Situationist idea of dérive, which these sneakers mimic, is quite interesting. On the other hand I also think that the idea of utilizing GPS in conjunction with energy harvesting shoes would also be a quite innovative and useful product.