- Alphabet’s life science arm, Verily, is interested in embedding sensors into sneakers to monitor a person’s health and movements, CNBC reported on Friday.
- The company has been showing off prototype designs in private meetings and hopes to attract a shoe industry partner to bring the concept to life.
- Watching out for weight gain, as well as detecting-sudden falls are two health related use cases for the shoes.
Can the company that revolutionized search technology, do the same for, shoes? Apparently, Google’s life sciences spin-off, Verily, might take a shot.
On Friday, CNBC reported that the company is interested in embedding sensors into sneakers to monitor a person’s health and movements.
Verily, a subsidiary of Google-parent Alphabet, has been showing off prototype designs in private meetings and hopes to attract a shoe industry partner to bring the concept to life, according to people familiar with the project cited in the report.
Still, CNBC said it was unable to confirm whether the project is still being pursued. A Verily spokesperson also did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
Watching out for weight gain, as well as detecting sudden falls might be two health-related use cases for the high-tech footwear, suggested in the report.
Besides the potential sneakers, the Alphabet life science company has its hand in a number of other hardware projects, including "smart" contact lenses and stabilizing utensils called "Liftware" that allow people with movement disorders eat with confidence.
In January, it raised $1 billion in a mega-funding round led by technology-investment firm Silver Lake.
Read more: Alphabet's life-science company just raised another $1 billion for a mysterious bet on healthcare
At the time, the company gave no details of what the funds would be used for, though Verily CEO Andrew Conrad said it would, "increase flexibility and optionality as we expand on our core strategic focus areas."
