Have you ever been stuck in an awkward situation, praying your phone would ring so you could politely extract yourself? Of course you have. That’s why D.C.-based iStrategyLabs came up with a bright idea and developed Dorothy, a physical trigger that makes any dumb-shoe smart. Dorothy consists of the “Ruby” (a small, connected device that slips into your shoe) and a mobile App that allows you to trigger a call to your phone from a fake contact (your “boss”) whenever you tap your heels together three times. Dorothy can also send text messages to your contacts with a custom message and your current location, letting them know exactly where you are.

Dorothy is powered by the LightBlue Bean, an Arduino micro-controller with a built in Bluetooth chip, accelerometer, and coin cell battery. Simply clip the “Ruby” into your shoe, connect it to the Dorothy iPhone App, and select your desired action after a successful trigger (three-heel clicks). The onboard accelerometer sends a signal to your phone via Bluetooth (listening for spikes in the data over a short period of time).

For more on Dorothy and Ruby, check-out the iStrategyLab blog.