Feeling uncomfortable during a date and hoping for a quick, subtle escape? Thanks to a new wearable device, three clicks of your heels could get you out the door with minimal awkwardness.
The wearable, dubbed the “Ruby" and part of an overall system called "Dorothy" (get it?) is a rectangular, Bluetooth-enabled device that sits on the side of your shoe. As you can see in the video above, the chip connects to your smartphone and activates after three rapid taps.
Ruby can do a few different things, depending on how you set it: make a fake phone call, text up to three friends a message, and share a map of your location with those three friends. Soon, the device's creators hope it will also be able to call an Uber.
Dorothy's creators are from the digital creative agency iStrategyLabs, based in Washington, D.C. The company is behind other visionary products like a Twitter-controlled paintball gun and a mirror that takes and posts selfies to social media.
Saul and Guidon stopped by The Huffington Post recently to show off the "Ruby." I tried it out, and, technically speaking, it indeed worked seamlessly.
But as of now, the device is clunky enough that it would be pretty hard to hide from a date, and it didn't stay in place if I moved around in my flats.
My exact concerns are two of the main reasons the creators have yet to put the product on market. Saul told HuffPost that his team is working to make the current prototype clip about a third smaller, and they're considering building it into a shoe’s insole. Ruby's creators also hope to improve the device's battery life.
Additionally, Saul said the team is considering designing a collar clip to connect to the same app as well. That’s veering from the "Wizard of Oz" marketing strategy, but Guidon said he sees potential in a line of wearables for men and women.
If you have an idea for what you'd like three clicks to call for, you can send suggestions to iStrategyLabs. Perhaps ordering a pizza -- though there is already single button for that.