AutismOregon.org

Tracking technology hits the ground running

Wednesday, May 2, 2007
By NANCY FRANCIS for kgw.com

GPS technology will soon be at your feet, offering peace of mind to loved ones of Alzheimer’s sufferers, people with autism, active preschoolers and others who might wander into harm’s way or get lost.

A Los Angeles-based company that sees opportunity in the merging of GPS tracking technology and footwear, has developed several prototypes of GPS tennis shoes.

GTX Corporation is having discussions with various footwear manufactures (including some in Oregon) about licensing its technological designs and connectivity system.

It looks like any other athletic shoe, but is technologically miles ahead. Plugged into the sole is a 4-ounce microprocessor that includes a GPS chip capable of receiving signals from the 2-dozen-plus satellites that orbit the Earth.

Once three of those satellites lock onto the chip, the microprocessor takes the data and pinpoints the latitude and longitude. That information is transmitted through a cellular network (Cingular) and is cross-referenced to an exact street address. The parent or caregiver has access to this information by logging on as a (paid) subscriber to the GTXC website.

The program not only will tell the parent/caregiver where the wearer is at any given moment. It provides a cyber “breadcrumb trail,” a history/map of where the wearer has been and when.

Another feature is the “geo-fence,” which enables the caregiver to set specific boundaries for the person wearing the shoe. Once he/she goes outside the “green” boundary or into a “red zone” the caregiver has designated as dangerous or forbidden, the caregiver receives an alert via cell phone.

“Immediately, it (the alert) gives you time to long on a computer,” Bertagna said. “What we do as soon as that zone is breached, we start the micro-tracking process. And that device goes into ‘tracking every minute’ mode. Now you can see a ‘breadcrumb trail’ minute-by-minute. So if your child went into a perilous area, you’d be able to immediately see where they entered and where they are in that area.”

The idea of a shoe as a tracking device came to Bertagna, a former software executive, five years ago, when Elizabeth Smart went missing from her Salt Lake City home.

“All over the news every day, and you’re watching this gut-wrenching story about these parents that just lost their child,” said Bertagna. “I thought, ‘I made shoes in my past lives. I’ve made software to track packages in a past life. Why can’t I combine the two? And I just sort of had an epiphany.”

Another company, Fele Footwear ,recently launched its own GPS shoe, the “Compass Sneaker.” While the GTXC connectivity system is internet-and -cell-phone-based, the caregiver of someone wearing the “Compass Sneaker” would call a centralized monitoring center if the wearer went missing. The dispatcher at the center would report the location information directly to law enforcement authorities rather than the caregiver.

The “Compass Sneaker” also features a panic button that the wearer could activate to notify others of his/her location. They sell for $325- $350 a pair and there is a $20 monthly monitoring fee.

GTXC’s Bertagna says shoes with the GPS system from his company will retail for approximately $20 more than the regular shoe. For example, a pair of $80 athletic shoes with the GPS module added would be $100. There also will be monthly subscriber fees ranging from $12.95 to $24.95

Like most facets of the high-tech revolution, GPS and wireless technology are evolving and not fail-safe. And while the GTXC shoes are basically wear-and-go, the battery should be charged daily.

Bertagna is quick to point out that GPS-equipped shoes are no substitute for good parenting or caregiving. “Use this as an auxiliary,” he says. “Something to help you. But don’t let it be the end all.”

http://www.kgw.com/business/stories/kgw_050207_technology_tracking_techn...