Move over, Marty McFly. Kegan Schouwenburg is about to truly change the shoe game.
Although the January announcement of a 2015 release date for the Back to the Future-inspired Nike McFly’s, complete with the industry’s first ever self-tying shoe laces, set the sneaker community ablaze, it pales in comparison to what Schouwenburg’s company SOLS promised with the unveiling of the future of footwear, ADAPTIV, during NBA All-Star Weekend.
SOLS, a start-up known for customized orthotic insoles, recently teamed up with some NBA heavyweights, including New York Knicks superstar Carmelo Anthony, to create ADAPTIV, a 3D printed footwear prototype that combines biomechanics, fashion, and robotics.
“We’ve always believed that form, function and design were never meant to be separate, and should be customized to you,” notes SOLS. “With customized footwear, the athlete will be protected from common lower extremity injuries and will be able to achieve peak performance.”
The shoe should be of particular interest to NBA teams, who are looking to find ways to minimize injuries. ADAPTIV utilizes a system of gyroscopes and pressure sensors that inform the footwear’s adaptive materials to adjust the air pressure and fluids within the shoe to support the body shifts and motions of the wearer. In theory, this would provide personalized shock absorption that has yet to be seen in the shoe industry.
“As an athlete, I understand the relationship between high performance, skill, and proper biomechanical alignment. SOLS is a pioneer in 3D printed, comfort custom orthotics and is changing the dynamics of the category – making wearable technology actionable and relevant for the everyday man,” said Carmelo Anthony in a released statement. “I believe in the ambition of the Company and wanted to be a part of it at the onset.”
SOLS also plans the launching of a line of sensor-enabled insoles this summer that would allow for the constant monitoring of fitness and health stats. If incorporated into the ADAPTIV footwear, this advancement would allow for NBA to track player’s physical and anaerobic activity. This is something teams have started to do through the utilization of SportVU technology, a set of player tracking cameras in all 29 NBA arenas that records player movement throughout games at a rate of 25 times a second.
For teams spending millions of dollars a year, the ADAPTIV technology would present a viable avenue to reduce the risk of injury of a player, which would be a welcomed idea to the NBA and its players.
Take Kobe Bryant, for instance. A man known for his maniacal approach to fitness and injury prevention, Bryant has strived to take no shortcuts in trying to perfect his own line of sneakers with Nike. This includes asking to have centimeters shaved off the bottom of his shoes to make sure the shoe was as light as possible.
An added component of ADAPTIV that is sure to entice players to wear the shoe is the ability for players to customize the shoe. ADAPTIV incorporates color-sensing cameras and RGB-adjustable LED lights that allow for instant color change to match the wearer’s outfit. Imagine Russell Westbrook getting his hands on these bad boys.
Marty McFly might not have to tie his laces to hop on his hover board, but I’ll take the kicks that help the world’s best athletes continue to fly.