Shoe Integrated Displays: A Prototype Sports Shoe Display and Design Space

In this paper, we address shoes as a platform for wearable displays. To open research on the area, we present a functional prototype of a display integrated to a sports shoe. The prototype utilizes three different areas of LEDs attached to the shoe as a display mechanism, and indicates the wearer's running pace relative to a preset target pace. To explore perceptions of the concept, and ideate further on the topic, we conducted semi-structured interviews with a group of regular runners. Initial findings suggest that the ambient, peripheral visibility of the sports shoe display is appreciated as fitting well to the running activity. To provide a structure for future work in the area we present a design space for shoe displays, identifying aspects such as scope of visibility, content, visualization style, and usage context.