​GPS in a Shoe Honda has created something beneficial, puttin | Tech for Good

​GPS in a Shoe

Honda has created something beneficial, putting technology to great use. It is not a brand new car or jet, but it will assist in transportation nonetheless. A new Honda company called Ashirase has designed an in-shoe GPS navigation system to help the visually impaired.

The "Ashirase" looks like a sandal with a built-in three-dimensional vibration device and a motion sensor. The device slides into your shoes, hiding from external view, with a small, square white box jutting out front. Once you set the travel route on the app on your phone, Ashirase will guide you using vibrations for navigation. For example, it will use sensors to nudge you forward if you are in the right direction. If you have to take a right, the right side of your shoe will vibrate to make you turn right, and so on.

The idea is to help visually impaired people to focus on the noises around them while they are out for a walk, rather than have to listen to a voice from the navigation system. In short, this is Honda's attempt at including the visually impaired in the forever-progressing world of GPS, making sure they can "walk more safely" with a "more relaxed state of mind," as explained by CarScoops.

The navigation system was developed by Wataru Chino after one of his family members suffered an accident. That turned his attention to developing mobility devices for visually impaired people. He applied to Honda's accelerator program IGNITION. It allows Honda associates in Japan to submit ideas and proposals which could be commercialized within the company or through a startup venture.

The Ashirase system is a valuable idea, and Honda noted the number of people with a visual impairment only in Japan is expected to climb to nearly 2 million by 2030. The company expects to launch the device before March 31st, 2023, so it is not just a conceptual experiment.

Source: Hypebeast, CarScoops

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