Posted on 05/20/2005 5:49:39 AM PDT by timtoews5292004
Sports shoes that work out whether their owner has done enough exercise to warrant time in front of the television have been devised in the UK.
The shoes - dubbed Square Eyes - contain an electronic pressure sensor and a tiny computer chip to record how many steps the wearer has taken in a day. A wireless transmitter passes the information to a receiver connected to a television, and this decides how much evening viewing time the wearer deserves, based on the day's exertions.
The design was inspired by a desire to combat the rapidly ballooning waistlines among British teenagers, says Gillian Swan, who developed Square Eyes as a final year design project at Brunel University in London, UK. "We looked at current issues and childhood obesity really stood out," she told New Scientist. "And I wanted to tackle that with my design."
Once a child has used up their daily allowance gained through exercise, the television automatically switches off. And further time in front of the TV can only be earned through more steps.
(Excerpt) Read more at newscientist.com ...
LOL! Workaround for couch potatoes- put the shoes on the dog.
Now all we need are smart parents to go along with the smart shoes and the kids might have a chance. /sarc
Yeah, no sense teaching children to actually THINK about actions, consequences and goals.
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