Miss America contestant to walk the walk in computer-coded shoes
Patricia Ford, a graduate of Georgia Tech with a passion for Excel spreadsheets, will march in a prepageant parade in battery-powered heels packing a microcontroller and an accelerometer.
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Miss Georgia hopes to wear a crown on her head at the end of the Miss America pageant Sunday, and she'll strut toward that goal with high-tech shoes on her feet.
Ryan Beckmann, a Georgia Tech electrical engineering Ph.D. candidate who's specializing in wearable computing, coded the microcontroller for the shoes. In each of the hollowed-out heels, he placed a tiny compass and accelerometer that communicate with the controller to change the light patterns on the outside of the shoes.
The heels also feature a mini version of the Atlanta skyline, by industrial design student Jordan Thomas, who added mini hexagons that light up like stars. The word "Tech," for Georgia Tech, embellishes the back of each shoe.
The word "Tech" for Georgia Tech is on the back of each shoe.
This isn't the first time a Miss Georgia has worn high-tech heels made at Georgia Tech to the Show Us Your Shoes Parade in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Two years ago, Maggie Bridges, then a student at the school, donned 3D-printed shoes featuring a finely detailed laser-cut grille with 3D-printed headlights; a laser-cut pattern on the heels; and little 3D-printed wheels, complete with tread details, along the sides. That marked the first time a Miss America contestant had worn 3D-printed footwear.
The Miss America pageant airs in the US on Sunday at 6 p.m. PT on the ABC network. Here's hoping at least a few of the contestants wear evening gowns programmed to live-tweet.