GroundWave Shadow Trainer Teaches You How to Dance
The GroundWave Shawdow Trainer by industrial designer Tom Skyes is a sneaker prototype that’s created to teach you how to move and groove! Yup, it’s supposed to help teach those with two left feet how to get down and boogie! The designer is actually the the recipient of the “2012 James Dyson Foundation Bursary” for his unique prototype that is fitted with accelerometer senses that interact with a specially designed GroundWave app on your smartphone, relaying live feedback from the shoe itself to track your movements and progress. According to Skyes, the project is meant to help children learn to dance while still incorporating a fun way to exercise. He decided on dancing because of its relevance with “the inner city youth market,” not to mention it’s a fun way to work up a sweat!
Design wise, the sneaker was styled to appear energetic and exciting, so that kids would want to still wear the dance/exercise show. It also features some traditional influences from footwear styling, but gives them a unique twist, Skyes suggests. It would be pretty cool if it does make it to production, even for those not part of the urban city youth market who just want to learn how to shuffle around the dance floor better.
Kristie Bertucci
