Nike remains obsessed with intelligent product design, now allowing you to live out your best Marty McFly dreams with its new self-lacing model – the Nike Adapt BB. On Tuesday morning, the footwear behemoth announced a “smart” self-lacing shoe, capable of adjusting to your foot accordingly, providing a perfect, custom fit.
To test the limits of this shoe, the company chose to focus on a performance shoe – a basketball sneaker. The reasoning behind this, per the brand, is because “a level of fit that feels comfortable at one point might feel constrictive just 24 minutes later.”
Apparently, a foot can expand up to a half-size throughout a game, which is exactly what prompted Nike to challenge the idea of a perfect-fit. “Because the needs of the foot change at any given time based on the sport, its duration and on specific movements, like a slashing cut to the basket, ‘perfect fit’ is a floating target.”
Nike also noted there is a huge demand for basketball sneakers from athletes, furthering leading them to choose this category of shoe.“We picked basketball as the first sport for Nike Adapt intentionally because of the demands that athletes put on their shoes,” says Eric Avar, Nike VP Creative Director of Innovation. “During a normal basketball game the athlete’s foot changes and 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 that we believe will improve the athlete’s experience.”
The Nike Adapt BB is outfitted with a custom motor in the mid-sole which detects movement and weight. The shoe can then adjust accordingly to varying weight and tension stimulus, as Robb Report stated. The internal quad-axial material, is essentially what molds to your foot shape, while the power laces lock into place at the push of a button.
There is even a downloadable app that allows you to save your favorite fits and also control the color of the mid-sole light. The app will act similar to your smartphone software, offering updates as new technological advancements are released.
“Athletes will be able to update and evolve their shoes with upgrades, new features and services all through smartphone technology inside their footwear,” said Michael Donaghu, Nike’s vice president of innovation.
