GTX today provided an early glimpse of its Xplorer Smart GPS shoes. The runners include their own GPS transmitter and regularly broadcast their position to a central service, helping track progress as well as location. Meant for closely following the locations of children and patients, the shoes also have a distinct dual-mode virtual fence that can be changed based on the exact limitations. A green-zone fence will warn when the shoes' wearer ventures outside of a predefined area; in just the opposite approach, a red-zone fence will raise an alert if the shoes are brought into pre-marked dangerous areas.

The footwear even ties into cellphone service, according to GTX, and will send a text message if boundaries are crossed. Battery levels are also relayed wirelessly to prevent the signal from going silent without warning. A typical full charge of the power supply is estimated to last several days. Pricing and availability for the Xplorer shoe remains unknown, but should be clarified at the company's public unveiling on February 1st.