http://www.impactlab.com/2009/06/06/shoes-with-built-in-gps-for-alzheimers-patients
(...)
“The technology will provide the location of the individual wearing the shoes within 30 feet, anywhere on the planet,” said Andrew Carle, an assistant professor at George Mason University who served as an advisor on the project.
“Sixty percent of individuals afflicted with Alzheimer’s Disease will be involved in a ‘critical wandering incident’ at least once during the progression of the disease — many more than once,” he said Friday.
The shoes are being developed by GTX Corp., which makes miniaturized Global Positioning Satellite tracking and location-transmitting technology, and Aetrex Worldwide, a footwear manufacturer.
Carle said embedding a GPS device in a shoe was important because Alzheimer’s victims tend to remove unfamiliar objects placed on them but getting dressed is one of the last types of memory they retain.
He said a “geo-fence” could be placed around a person’s home and a “Google Map” alert sent to a cell phone, home or office computer when a programmed boundary is crossed....
(((That "geo-fence" ought to be pretty handy for human-traffickers, too. Worried that your undocumented labor force has left the sweatshop? Require them to wear special shoes on the construction site.)))
