Australian IT expert invents the shoe phone

It's finally happened: Someone has created a working shoe phone. You'll never lose your mobile again, but on the downside, answering this undercover phone means taking off your shoes. Surely that'll blow your cover, no?

The creator, IT boffin Paul Gardner-Stephen, came up with the device as a prop for a theatrical production of the '60s spy spoof Get Smart, and it functions perfectly as a mobile phone. Sadly, it's not just a case of clicking your heels and speaking to your feet. You'll have to slip your shoe off and slide back the heel to chat into the mouthpiece. The actual phone is housed in the other shoe, the two connecting via Bluetooth. But Gardner-Stephen says this takes no more time than it would to rummage through a handbag and is convinced his design will take off.

We kind of hope it does because his follow-up invention is no less out there, but much more practical: a heart-rate-monitor shoe. Aimed at the elderly and infirm, it'll alert caregivers in case of an emergency. You could literally be saved by your shoes.

Via The Telegraph