GPS shoe makes its way to market
After receiving FCC clearance in September 2011, the Aetrex GPS Shoe is retailing for $299.99.
A growing number of devices aim to track Alzheimer's and other patients who have a tendency to wander. Of course, many of these devices must be remembered to be worn to be of any use.
GPS-fitted shoes, then, seem like one of the most obvious accessories given shoes are generally required for, well, wandering.
Shoemaker Aetrex, with the help of GPS device makers GTX, is now selling its GPS Shoe after it received FCC clearance in September 2011.
The shoes themselves, available for men and women with either straps or shoelaces, go for $299.99 a pair, while the monthly service plan runs $30 to $40.
The transmitter, embedded in the base of the right heel, tracks the user's location in real time and sends that data at specified intervals to a central monitoring station. The monthly tracking plan covers having that data sent to a personalized tracking Web site for caregivers to monitor should the user ever leave a specified geozone, or in the event of an emergency.
GTX is now sending a second batch of 1,500 GPS devices to Aetrex after the first batch went out in the fall.