Imagine a running shoe with no laces – and no we are not talking Velcro but something rather more sophisticated – a self-adjusting shoe that fits you perfectly without the need to tie laces.
Nike latest shoe, the Nike HyperAdapt 1.0, has adaptive laces – where the shoe adapts to fit you the moment you step in, which you can then modify for your own personal preference.
“When you step in, your heel will hit a sensor and the system will automatically tighten,” explains Tiffany Beers from Nike, and the project’s technical lead. “Then there are two buttons on the side to tighten and loosen. You can adjust it until it’s perfect.”
If the shoes deliver what they promise it would mean athletes would have the ability to make swift micro-adjustments, and problems like undue pressure caused by tight tying or slippage resulting from loose laces would be over, and athletes would be able to make precise, consistent, and personalised adjustments on the fly.
“That’s an important step, because feet undergo an incredible amount of stress during competition,” says designer Tinker Hatfield from Nike.
While this shoe is manually controlled this technology in the future says Nike could lead to an automated, nearly symbiotic relationship between the foot and shoe.
“Wouldn’t it be great if a shoe, in the future, could sense when you needed to have it tighter or looser? says Beers. "Could it take you even tighter than you’d normally go if it senses you really need extra snugness in a quick maneuver? That’s where we’re headed. In the future, product will come alive.”
The Nike HyperAdapt 1.0 will be available ONLY to members of Nike+ summer 2016
It's just like the future we were promised in the film Back to the Future.......