Is Google going into the smart shoe business?

(Photo by Caleb Woods on Unsplash)

Google’s (NSDQ:GOOG) life sciences company Verily has been working on a prototype of shoes that can track the wearer’s weight and movement, and potentially even detect falls, according to a report on CNBC.

The network cited people familiar with the project in reporting that Verily is looking for a company to help develop the smart shoe. The sources told CNBC that the company has shown a prototype of the shoe to prospective partners in recent months. Verily did not respond to the network’s request for comment.

Verily has been teaming up with companies in a variety of medtech projects, including a joint venture with ResMed (NYSE:RMD) to develop software solutions to improve care for sleep apnea and other breathing-related sleep disorders.

Apple Watch’s latest iteration (Series 4) includes fall detection, so perhaps Verily isn’t far behind. Falls are the leading cause of fatal injury and the most common cause of nonfatal trauma-related hospital admissions among older adults. Falls result in more than 2.8 million injuries treated in emergency departments annually, including over 800,000 hospitalizations and more than 27,000 deaths, according to the National Council on Aging.

In 2016, Verily launched its Liftware Level smart utensil designed to aid individuals with limited hand or arm mobility.

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