In an ‘Innovation 2016’ event yesterday in New York, Nike made several product announcements, amongst which the most exciting one was that of self-tying sneakers with HyperAdapt 1.0, thus turning “Back 2 Future’s” fictional release into a reality.
While the company teased versions and prototypes, the American giant is all set to bring in a pair of modern wonders to the market.
These sneakers feature ‘adaptive lacing’ technology that automatically adjust the shoe’s snugness. These self-lacing shoes are designed by the leading innovator of Nike, Tiffany Beers (who worked on Nike Air Yeezy and Nike Air Mag) and legendary sneaker designer Tinker Hatfield.
The innovator stated that when one steps into the shoes, the heel will hit a sensor and the system would tighten automatically. There are two buttons on the side, one to loosen and other to tighten. This new regime would take care of the problem of tripping over loose laces.
Mark Parker, the president and CEO of Nike stated that today the athletes seek more than mere a dashboard. All they want is a relationship.
HyperAdapt 1.0 is the first performance vehicle for adaptive lacing, the latest platform breakthrough by Nike. The shoe is a proof of deep research in electrical, digital as well as mechanical engineering.
It drives away the traditional understanding and proposes an ultimate solution for lacing and tension preference.
The task of Beers was to engineer the self-lacing sneakers for meeting ‘Back to the Future’s’ fictional release. One pair of this self-lacing shoe was made for Michael J Fox, the film’s star and now, they have plans to auction, so that his Non-profit organization for Parkinson’s can be supported.
Nike’s self-lacing shoes have arrived #HyperAdapt pic.twitter.com/RS2D5G8IQI
— Popular Science (@PopSci) March 17, 2016
Hatfield stated that the potential of this technology for athletes is huge and that it would provide a tailored and custom-fit solution.
He also said that considering a shoe which senses the needs of the body in real-time is just incredible. This leads to an elimination of various distractions and benefits performance.
It would be available only to Nike+ members in 3 colors, starting this Holiday 2016.
