Platform Socks

::: nBlog :::

Having EU size 48 (US 13) feet causes some inconvenience as the selection of shoes and especially socks is quite small. Usually the largest sock size is 46-48, meaning that they barely fit and thus wear out relatively fast, probably because the fabric stretches to its maximum.

Socks have had a very similar user interface and sizing for centuries. There are a few providers for custom made socks, but they offer steep prices and still start with an assumption that all feet have similar dimensions.

Looking from our beloved Spime (and my) perspective, socks should quickly be spimified so that each new pair would fit slightly better. They should also be reinforced from the spots the previous pair experienced most wear.

In order to sense wear and stretch, a sock might have a simple RFID tag connecting tiny conducting threads woven throughout its fabric. Each time the tag would be read, it would transmit a 3D map of the sock based on the matrix of broken and still conducting threads, to a reader device in e.g. a mobile phone capable of sending the data further.

As most RFID tags are now mass printed, the additional cost of the sock tag would be hardly more than 15 eurocents, so this would be feasible for most sock manufacturers.

Now add BaseN Platform to host those millions of sock spimes (3D maps, current and historical) and my desired sock service is ready. I would subscribe right away if I could get new, better fitting socks mailed to me just before the old ones start breaking up.

//Pasi