UPDATED 12:24 EDT / JUNE 10 2016

NEWS

Lenovo unveils smart shoe that can count steps and play games | #lenovotechworld

During this week’s Lenovo Tech World event in San Francisco, Chinese electronics maker Lenovo Group Ltd. unveiled a new smart shoe that is part exercise tracker, part video game controller.

The shoe, which is currently only a prototype, was developed through a partnership with Vibram S.p.A, an Italian company that produces rubber outsoles. From what little Lenovo has revealed, we know the shoes are capable of tracking some of the usual fitness stats—distance travelled, calories burned, and so on.

Something that makes these shoes a little unusual is the fact that they can be used as a controller for a mobile game. Lenovo demoed this capability using an endless runner-style game, where the player runs through a linear game world while trying to avoid obstacles. The game continues forever until the player fails to avoid one of these obstacles, which seems like a good way to train endurance when paired with actual exercise.

While the new prototype is certainly less gaudy than some of the shoes shown by Vibram and Lenovo last year, it may still be a little too flashy for some consumers. Actually, that literally may be the case, as the soles of the shoes are filled with bright LEDs that flash while running or playing music. This may be good for visibility at night, but not everyone wants their feet to light up like Christmas trees.

Of course, since these are “smart” shoes, there will likely be some way to turn the lights off, but wearers would still be left with a pair of shoes that look like something out of Back to the Future 2. No word yet on whether these ones are also self-lacing.

You can watch a very brief promo for the new shoes below:

Image courtesy of Lenovo Group Ltd

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