For socks, as in real life, only those things that go together really belong together. If you have ever sorted socks, you know it is not that easy to find the right and left socks that go together after the wash. Samy Liechti, founder and managing director of Blacksocks SA, has addressed this problem. He is convinced that mankind is made for greater things than sorting socks and has launched “Smarter Socks”, probably the smartest socks in the world. The interaction between the iPhone app and the elegant communication button at calf level turns the socks into a digital experience. “Smarter Socks” not only help with sorting after the wash, they also record the life story of every single sock.
As the iPhone is not yet RFID-compliant, Blacksocks has invented the Sock-Sorter. Step 1: Hold the Sock-Sorter over the communication button on the sock; Step 2: Use the Sock-Sorter to scan your washing basket for the matching sock; Step 3: The iPhone makes a sound to indicate when the matching sock has been found. If two single socks want to form a new partnership, the communication button can simply be reprogrammed so everyone - even the internet - knows that a new chapter of their life has begun.
But that is not all the Blacksocks app can do. If you want to know if your socks of choice are midnight black or just foggy grey, you can use the BLACKSOCKS app and the iPhone camera to take a black reading. A traffic light system appears on the screen to make clear whether the socks are still wearable (or bearable). The BLACKSOCKS app is now available for free download from the App Store and the blackometer can even be used for socks from other brands.
