Microchipped 'smart socks' can be sorted with iPhone app

RFID chips sewn into Blacksocks allow you to track your socks with a wireless remote and iPod app. (blacksocks.com)The world has witnessed some impressive technological advancements in recent years: Self-driving cars, printed artificial organs, tweeting space rovers, toys that let people blow up watermelons with their minds - and now, science brings us socks that can sort themselves.

A European sock company called Blacksocks has developed what it says are "probably the smartest socks in the world," able to communicate information to their owners through an iPhone app.

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips are sewn into each sock, making them uniquely identifiable.

A handheld wireless detector is able to find each sock's proper match within a pile of laundry or overflowing sock drawer, beeping when the mate is nearby.

"As soon as your socks arrive, you need to pair them up using the app and the Sock Sorter." reads the product's website. "From now on, your iPhone knows which socks belong together and knows all sorts of details about the individual socks."

The app also helps a person manage his or her "sock inventory," counts the number of washes on each sock, and detect the sock's "black levels" using a camera to determine how faded they might be.

"Thanks to smarter socks, you can now tell where your socks come from, what their life has been like, and who they belong to," says founder Samy Liechti. "This gives every sock a little CV - initially, it will not be enough to apply for a job, but it gives you more information on the sock than ever before."



At $189 for a set of 10 pairs, it's definitely a luxury purchase, but this is consistent with the company's brand and current product offerings.

Blacksocks pioneered something they call the "sockscription" in 1999, shipping packages of high-end socks directly to consumers three to six times per year.

Would you invest in RFID-equipped socks? What else would you microchip if you could?