The hoverboard is the one of the amazing gadgets and weird technical developments imagined by the makers of the “Back to the Future” franchise that still appears to attract people. No, not those stupid motorized skateboards that you can see kids riding down nearly every suburban street in America these days. Marty McFly’s hoverboard floated and glided without making contact with the earth.
Still, the flying surfboard wasn’t the only future invention that the “Back to the Future” crew predicted we’d all be using by 2016. Marty also received a pair of self-lacing high tops from them. Now, Nike is preparing to release its own version of those user-friendly sneakers.
The HyperAdapt 1.0 is the first generation of self-fitting sneakers, a shoe that seeks to take away some of the guessing and effort from lacing up for athletes. It has “adaptive lacing,” a technique that molds the shoe to the user’s foot and responds to movement as they walk.
Nike has been a touch coy about the specifics of its power-shoe technology. What we do know is that the shoes use a heel sensor to detect when a foot slips inside and automatically change the fit. The wearer can modify the fit on the fly using the buttons on the side. Instead of needing to knot and re-lace their kicks until they get it right, users may make modest alterations to the fit with those “micro adjustments.”
In late 2016, the HyperAdapts should be ready to play. They’re the culmination of years of research and development at Nike’s huge Oregon headquarters site by engineers and designers. One of the first prototypes looked like a snowboard boot with a buckle that fastened from beneath the foot. Although the final product is less clumsy, the sleek cross-training variant nevertheless uses the same under-the-shoe adjustment mechanism.
The goal is for athletes to focus on the action on the field rather than the sneakers they’re wearing. They won’t be fumbling with their laces during a workout or slipping and sliding over loose laces. You don’t have to stoop over and tie your kicks before getting out of Hill Valley if Biff or any of the “Back to the Future” bad men show up searching for trouble.
