More bizarre shoe flights of fancy to tickle your heel-bone. You might ask yourself what’s the purpose of these strange looking sandals with rollerskates. Basically, they’re virtual shoes that allow you to walk with a normal gait without moving forward. The developers, who are from the University of Tsukuba in Japan, recently demoed the so-called “Powered Shoes” at Siggraph 2006.

The shoes work by sensing the pace of the walker and then driving the motorized wheels in the reverse direction so the net effect is walking in place without moving. Sort of like a treadmill or walking backwards on an escalator.

Applications will definitely include video games, but I think it would make learning how to “moon-walk” an interesting experience as well…

Developer’s Site: Powered Shoes
Source: CNET