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Every year there are a few gadgets here at CES that are a mixed bag of odd and awesome. But these Elvis-inspired vacuum prototype shoes take the absolute crazy-cake.
The idea here is to strap these on and walk around indoors. When your heel hits the ground, a lever turns a gear built into a platform wedge on the bottom of the shoes to generate electricity. These classy kicks “shoe-ver” with a toe-box nozzle that sucks up dust and crumbs as you stroll.
Columnist Jennifer Jolly sports the Denso vacuum shoe. (Photo: Maya Castro for USA TODAY)
For the record — they do actually suck — a small amount of dust and crumbs at least. I wore one for more than an hour of “testing” in my hotel room and hallways. But no, they will not replace my robot vacuum anytime soon, that’s for sure.
Denso concept vacuum shoe, bottom view. (Photo: Denso)
This concept won an internal design contest at Denso, global auto parts supplier. Every year the company holds an employee competition for new inventions and ideas, and the winners get showcased here. There is very little chance these will ever see actual production, but hey, when did that ever stop innovation?
What weird gadgets have you see lately? Be sure to share in the comments section or send ideas to pitch@techish.com.