LED shoes are the talk of the town. These technology-laden shoes are designed by a Japanese electrical engineer. The LED shoes have become a glowing computer display. The only matter for concern is that they come with an expensive price tag.
These high-tech shoes are known as Orphe. The glowing soles of the shoes derive power from about fifty LED lights that are controlled individually.
Priced at JPY44,800 (about $400 USD), people are finding them quite expensive. The LED lights can be controlled by smartphone application. As per Light Ups, the California based company; the shoes are the latest rage. They create a strong fashion statement and are a treat for the technology-loving generation.
It took several months to create these high-tech shoes. After receiving an overwhelming response from the crowd, the designer of the shoes, Yuya Kikukawa launched a crowd-funding campaign on the internet. The online campaign raised more than $110,000 USD which was about 200% of the intended goal.
Kikukawa spent two years consulting various shoe manufacturers regarding the design of the shoes.
Kikukawa recalls that after he showed his prototype to the people, he received a lot of positive feedback. He also received suggestions to come up with the final product that made him launch the. crowd-funding project.
He released a video that got millions of views across the globe and he received tremendous support from the people. This was enough to boost his confidence.
Yuya explains that his shoes have three sensors: a gyroscope, a compass, and an accelerometer. There is an SDK developers kit loaded in the shoes.
The shoes light-up on receiving a message or an email. They can also give directions by lighting-up, to lead the wearer in the right direction. The user can monitor the movements on the computer with only 20-millisecond delay.
Kikukawa further plans to incorporate health apps in his shoes. He explains that there are fifty LED lights inside each shoe and so, one hundred lights in one pair. The processor sits in the middle to control every LED light individually.
Currently, the shoes are featuring in the SoftBank commercial, along with singing sensation Justin Bieber.
Kikukawa quotes that performers and dancers constitute the major customer base of Orphe shoes. But, other people are investing in them as walking shoes like Haruko Fukuzawa.
Haruko, a web systems engineer, came across the shoes in a picture on Twitter. She instantly fell in love with them and bought the shoes without bothering about the price tag.
She says that wearing the shoes makes her day more fun. She considered the price tag absolutely worth it.
She shares her first experience with the shoes. She says that when the shoes first arrived, she wore them, switched off the lights and walked. She adds that she wore them to work and then, wore them on her walk.
According to Fukuzawa, she feels safe in the shoes.
These high-tech LED shoes now have a great fan base scattered across the globe.
