Smart Shoes for Women Safety with Implicit Triggers

The high incidence of assault and harassment faced by women in public places has been a persistent issue in various regions around the globe. Despite the existence of laws aimed at protecting women from such misbehavior, incidents of stalking, sexual harassment, and assault continue to occur. Considering this, various smartphone apps have been developed to provide women with a means of protection through their mobile devices. In an effort to address this problem, this study proposes the development of a smart shoe, referred to as Step Safe. This design utilizes IoT-based hardware embedded in a shoe which consists implicit trigger and circuitry present in a shoe which can be triggered by the user in emergency situations to send alerts in the form of SMS to all emergency contacts including parents, friends and relatives. The shoe incorporates a triggering mechanism, GPS module, and emergency calling feature to provide women with a means of quickly and effectively alerting authorities of their location in emergency situations. The system also includes an accompanying Android application and website, which further enhance its functionality. Also, a unique part of the system is a website which is synchronized with the Firebase database and was created especially for law enforcement organizations. When a user registers on the Step Safe app, her information is transferred to a database that the police may access. In the event of an abduction or missing person, this enables quick and simple access to vital information such the user’s last known location, contact information, and guardian information. It is anticipated that this proposed technology will address a significant percentage of the fundamental concerns faced by women in regard to personal safety and assist them in remaining protected in potentially dangerous situations.