Shoeveillance

(via BoingBoing): Aphrodite Project: Platforms: Safety

This is just a "new media" art project, but if it actually gets used it would be interesting:

"One of the main concerns of contemporary urban sex workers, even in areas where prostitution is legal, is violence. Each sandal will have an audible alarm system, which emits a piercing noise to scare off attackers. The shoes are also outfitted with a built in GPS receiver and an emergency button that relays both the prostitute's location and a silent alarm signal to public emergency services. Where there are problematic relations with law enforcement, i.e. most places, the shoes will relay the signal to sex workers' rights groups...

"The shoes will transmit their location via APRS (Automatic Position Reporting System) originally developed by Bob Bruninga, US Naval Academy Satellite Lab, in the late 1970s. APRS uses amateur radio to transmit position reports, weather reports, and messages between users. It is free and open to the public, and used by police officers, fire fighters, and other public service workers across the country to track their locations. Using APRS brings sex workers on par with other public workers, whose lives are valued highly because they work in dangerous professions that serve the needs of the community."