Nike's Self-Lacing Shoes Will Go On Sale This Year (arstechnica.com) 84
An anonymous reader writes: The Nike HyperAdapt 1.0 self-lacing shoes have been officially unveiled. We know they will go on sale later this year, but we do not know the price. "When you step in, your heel will hit a sensor and the system will automatically tighten," explained Tiffany Beers, the project's technical lead. There are two buttons on the side of the shoe that allow you to tweak how loose or tight the laces are. The concept behind the HyperAdapt shoes bring to mind Marty McFly's Nike Mags from Back to the Future, even if they do not look very similar. Nike hasn't yet revealed how the shoes work from a technical point of view but they do lineup with the US patent filed by the company in 2009. The HyperAdapt 1.0 shoes will be exclusively available to users of the Nike+ app later this year in three color combinations -- white, grey and black.
Battery powered (Score:5, Insightful)
I never thought I would see the day where shoes would be battery powered.
Imaging not being able to take off shoes because the battery is dead.
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Re:Battery powered (Score:4, Funny)
Uh-oh . . . you should read the fine print in the EULA . . . your feet are now property on the Nike Corporation!
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An easy solution, perhaps, would be a mechanism that charges the battery as you walk.
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An easy solution, perhaps, would be a mechanism that charges the battery as you walk.
Don't get enough exercise? Sleep in your shoes, asshole!
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"two more, technically"
That would depend on how many feet you have, would it not?
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Maybe it charges the battery by piezoelectric effect? Aaah, but that's too elegant. Chances are good when the batteries run out, you have to buy new shoes. Because why would Nike make something elegant when they could instead go for profit?
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Brings new meaning to the term 'hotfoot'.
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That was my first thought. I figured I'd see if anyone mentioned this. Then again, I suspect that the people buying these shoes will take quite a bit of care about how they're treated. As in, cleaning them nightly with a toothbrush and only wearing them on special occasions. Some people are really passionate about their "kicks." Pimping and preening does have a focus on footwear - to the point of obsession and collectibles and underground with black-, gray-, and used-markets. I know a number of people who a
Still... (Score:5, Insightful)
Springs, bouncy soles, fancy graphics, LEDs, etc...those are gimmicks that idiots fall for.
Self lacing is a practical advantage for millions of disabled people.
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Self lacing is a practical advantage for millions of disabled people.
This was my first thought as well. I can understand the need to make the first version of these shoes flashy -- to make them appeal to the target demographic (oh look shiny!) -- but once they've refined the technology and reduced costs, I completely expect them to make some traditional styles designed for disabled and elderly folks who have a difficult time even with velcro straps.
As for power concerns, it will be interesting to see what the storage and charging system is. Perhaps the motors consume littl
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Wouldn't lace-less shoes be even better?
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Velcro straps, those work well. Also the spiral laces, those work too. With no batteries either.
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Or, you know, Velcro.
Or even just slip on shoes.
If someone can't toe their shoelaces due to disability then having to change batteries isn't going to be a walk in the park either.
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Ditto. I can't even tie shoes because of my disabilities. :( I miss those long strap laces when I was younger. They don't make and sell those in local stores any more. :(
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Watch the video, they've got buttons on the shoes. That and, you know, shoes aren't for everyone - as in, no one pair suits everyone. Don't be silly and say they won't work for disabled people, they're not meant for disabled people.
Which is unfortunate. If you expand the thread, you'll see that I posted elsewhere that these might have therapeutic and other beneficial features and that they should look into that and licensing their patent or allowing access (for free) to the protocol would be good. However,
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During the release in New York they claimed the battery should expect 2 weeks of usage and takes 3 hours to charge. You can always remove the shoe because it defaults to an open circuit (if i interpret the patent correctly, it "ratchets down" the shoe to a snug size. without power you can manually "open" the sneakers)
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Re: Battery powered (Score:2)
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Honestly this is kind of silly but no more silly than an app to track where you are going, or an app to get you laid because you are too lazy to leave your house. I am interested in seeing how this works and seeing how this evolves. I would th
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I never thought I would see the day where shoes would be battery powered.
You don't remember LA Lights from the early 90s? Those things were the shit.
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One of my favorites is the multiple stories about criminals who have been spotted, tracked, or apprehended because of the lights in their shoes. It's also as good as the many stories about those who are otherwise impeded by their fashion choices, often to dire conclusions. Hats, hair styles, girdles, and footwear have killed people - many people. Pants worn around the knees sometimes have dire consequences, in today's world, that sometimes includes physical harm - including death and imprisonment.
I don't we
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Every parent knows that the kids shoes need to be replaced very often. So an expensive pair of shoes that get thrown again in a few months versus teaching the kid how to tie the damn shoes...
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I never thought I would see the day where shoes would be battery powered.
I guess you must have missed all those blinky lights shoes.
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Grand-Dad, back in the Olden Days (Score:3)
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Self lacing (Score:1)
They are not so much self-lacing as they are self-tightening. Reebok has had their pump shoes since the early ninety's, including ones where you could carry around a CO2 cartridge to fill them. Shoes are just bizarre.
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What belongs to the ninety? Why didn't you also write shoe's or one's?
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OK Donald.
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Ahem, that's The Donald.
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The homos?
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The spazes!
too much soft living (Score:1)
LUDICROUS.
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BTTF (Score:3, Funny)
New meme (Score:2, Funny)
"When I was a kid, we had to learn to tie our own shoes!"
Had these when I was a kid (Score:3, Insightful)
Instead of pushing a button to adjust tightness, I just pulled two straps to the desired tightness. They called it "velcro" and it worked quite well and quite fast for those who didn't want to / couldn't tie their shoes, for hundreds less dollars.
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I've actually got some New Balance walking shoes that use Velcro rather than laces - they're great!
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I think good-quality Velcro should last as least as long as a shoelace before it breaks--but replacing the Velcro is much more difficult.
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Lacing hoop-style laced boots is actually really, really fast once you get the hang of it. I do mean super fast. You put your finger between the two laces and, moving upwards, you move back and fourth in a zigzag pattern. It probably takes maybe a second and a half to lace your boots and get them tight to the proper tightness.
Christmas! (Score:1)
This will be the perfect gift for the retards on your shopping list! They can finally ditch the velcro and blend in with the non-paste-eating crowd!
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No. This will not get me to add you to my shopping list. Nice try though, retard.
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A teammate had velco closures on his shoes... (Score:2)
... back in the very early '70s.
Batteries not required. These are a solution in search of a problem. Maybe Nike ought to try and help figure out why so many runners get injured when wearing modern running shoes instead of wasting R&D money automating something that the vast, vast majority of people master before kindergarden.
I'll stick with VELCRO (Score:2)
Thanks, but no thanks
I have to wonder... (Score:2)
Will these shoes work as well as passive safety belts did, back a few decades ago?
TSA Freakout (Score:2)
WooHoo! (Score:2)
Cycle racing shoes to come ? (Score:2)
I can see a potential use in cycle racing shoes: cycling all day you do not want shoes too tight, but come to a sprint and you do want them tight.
Current shoes have quick adjust, but then other riders can see you preparing. A couple of small buttons on the handlebars and you can tighten up without anyone knowing. 1/4 second could be the difference between winning and loosing.
Also if you miss the jump you can tighten up faster, and join in.
But will they... (Score:3)
Good lord, man! (Score:2)
You've invented the loafer!