Switched has a new home! Huffpost Tech.

Click here to visit the new home of Switched!

Hot on HuffPost Tech:

See More Stories
AOL Tech

8 Weird GPS Devices

by Lee Bains on June 1, 2009 at 07:21 AM



Sometimes technology treads into such intimate territory that it freaks us out. Such is the case with GPS technology, which is increasingly finding itself implanted in everything from tennis shoes to USB drives these days, potentially tracking our every move. The eight non-traditional-GPS-gadgets we've compiled range from the useful to the downright creepy -- take a look!



1. GPS Shoes
Offered by Quantum Satellite Technology, these tech-rich and style-poor kicks will allow your friends to track your every literal step. If you can justify the $350 price tag, you'll also enjoy the onboard panic button, which can call upon emergency services.



2. Garmin Astro GPS Dog Tracking System Geared towards hunters, this canine-tracking system promises to let "sportsmen spend their time looking for game, rather than ... their dog." Considering this camera-, alarm-, compass- and barometer-equipped device's $440 price tag, maybe avid hunters would just rather get their hands on better trained dogs?



3. GPS USB Drive This sneaky gadget is begging for a lawsuit. You can deposit this innocuous-looking device in the trunk, glove compartment, or even jacket lining of a loved (and distrusted) one, and then retrieve it later on. Just plug it into your computer to find out exactly where that good-for-nothing partner of yours snuck off to. Several companies offer such devices on Amazon.



4. GPS Shopping Buggy
Designed, we can only imagine, for senile seniors and munchy-stricken potheads, these buggies, designed by British developers, aim to help the easily distracted navigate the aisles of the grocery store.



5. Speed Demon
Designed by a 20-year-old college student, the Speed Demon plugs into a car's cigarette lighter, monitoring a car's speed the whole time. Differentiating between speed limit zones, the device emits a squeal when a driver is speeding, and can send e-mail notifications of such violations (to a watchful parent, for instance). It can be had for $250.



6. Trutex School Uniform
The British uniform company Trutex offers this maximum-security scholastic wear as a way to keep tabs on those mischievous kids. Sewing tracking devices into school uniforms, Trutex is well on its way to being the de facto clothier of the impending One World Government.



7. GPS-Equipped Nativity Scene
We all knew those kids in high school that took great delight in amassing "baby Jesus" collections around Christmastime. Unfortunately for them, and fortunately for those of us who find that kind of thing dumb at best and sacrilegious at worst, Lightning GPS offers free GPS units to non-profits and churches that wish to safeguard their nativity scenes.



8. GPS Golf Balls
 It seems that the British have gone GPS-wild. Developers at Geostate have come up with a GPS-enabled microchip that can be planted in golf balls, allowing golfers to figure out exactly where that awful slice wound up. Truth be told, though, we'd probably just rather forget those balls that wind up in the lake.

Tags: features, gps, top

Comments

7

Add your comments

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.

HuffPost AOL Social News Most Popular