It's the shoe that tells you what to do

Would you buy a “lazy shoe” that complains when you run? Well, Google made one anyway.

The prototype shoe has a speaker, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, pressure censors and Bluetooth.

And a really unrealistic voice.

“So once we establish the connection, we analyse all that data, and through a series of ‘'if’ and ‘and’ statements, we give the shoe a personality,” said Mike from marketing.

“If the shoe’s athletic and I start running, it’s going to cheer me on.

“If the shoe’s lazy and I start running, it’s going to start yelling at me.”

Google presented the shoe, which it developed with Volkswagen, at the recent SXSW festival.

Hat-tip: Chris Matyszczyk / CNET

“So the whole reason we’re doing this … is to show what happens when you collect a lot of data, and use that data to tell interesting, funny relevant stories in new and different ways,” said Mike.

You’re not likely to hear it talk to you at your local department store any time soon, though.

“Google’s not really getting into the shoe business,” he said. “It’s more about showing what’s possible with data and showing off an early prototype of what that might look like.”