Nike has unveiled the first-ever self-lacing shoe that will be sold to the public, the Nike HyperAdapt 1.0. While it has been decades since Marty McFly wore the first fictional self-lacing shoe in “Back to The Future,” it was only months ago when Nike released a prototype in honor of the movie’s anniversary. Now, it’s not a prototype anymore, reports The Blaze.
Nike’s new HyperAdapt 1.0 is the first “performance vehicle” that uses what the shoe company calls “adaptive lacing,” or an ability that the shoe has in tightening or loosening the shoe depending on the need of the wearer.
“The shoe translates deep research in digital, electrical and mechanical engineering into a product designed for movement,” reads the description in Nike.com. “It challenges traditional understanding of fit, proposing an ultimate solution to individual idiosyncrasies in lacing and tension preference.”
Simply put, this is the product of Nike’s research on improving the performance of their athletic footwear. Players usually need and prefer different levels of tightness in their game. However, when you’re in the middle of your game, you just can’t tell your opponent to stop and let you tighten your shoelaces for a move, right? That’s where Nike’s “HyperAdapt 1.0” comes in very handy.
“When you step in, your heel will hit a sensor and the system will automatically tighten,” Nike, Inc. Senior Innovator Tiffany Beers, technical lead for Nike’s adaptive lacing project, explains. “Then there are two buttons on the side to tighten and loosen. You can adjust it until it’s perfect.”
The product has been designed with improving the athlete’s play in mind. The HyperAdapt 1.0 is the first of Nike’s successful attempts at adaptive lacing, and will be the springboard for future innovations. Nike plans to build on what the HyperAdapt 1.0 succeeds in doing. “It’s a platform,” Beers explains, “something that helps envision a world in which product changes as the athlete changes.”
Nike’s HyperAdapt 1.0 is surely exciting, but only Nike+ members will be the ones eligible to purchase the shoe when it releases later this year. For now, check out this cool promotional video.
