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Whether you think that this invention is a product of lazy millennial culture, futuristic thinking, or new athletic tech, there is one thing for sure. It’s really cool.
It all starts with Marty McFly not doing up his Nike Mags in Back to the Future 2. He didn’t have to, and neither do we with the new self-lacing shows from Nike. The Adapt BB’s a controlled by your smart phone to lace themselves and provide flexibility in how tightly they are laced.
They are currently designed for basketball players. Erik Navar said this: “During a normal basketball game the athlete’s foot changes. The ability to quickly change your fit by loosening your shoe to increase blood flow and then tighten again for performance is a key element.” You can pre-set the app to make these changes for you whilst playing a match.
But how cool would this technology be for the disabled who cannot tie their own shoes? I think utilizing this tech could give so much more independence to different types of people, not just athletics.
These shoes could be marketed like crazy for the general consumer
A main difference to the BTTF shoes, where you can see them tightening around Marty’s foot, is that these don’t feature that visual. However, it has wireless charging and Bluetooth. When paired to the app, you can use the big L and R icons and pull them up or down to tighten and loosen the shoe.
They will cost $350. Furthermore, the new shoes will hit shelves in February and will be more widely available than the previous self-lacing shoes released in 2016. We expect to see a lot of these as Ben Wood says: ”the underlying incentive for shoemakers is that it offers the ability to get information on usage, performance and wear.”
Take a look at this trend from last year, shoes for your shoes!
