If you’ve ever watched the infamous ‘Back to the Future’, you probably grew up with big hopes and expectations for future technologies. The movie sported a number of amazing technological predictions of what the future would look like, all of which were iconic in both the movie world and in what people hoped the future would actually invent and have. Amongst several of the exciting technologies within the film, one item that stood out as one of the greatest examples of innovation in sneakers is Marty Mcfly’s Nike MAG shoes (MAG standing for magnetic anti gravity). The shoes stood out as a huge trademark for the film and sneaker fans worldwide hoped for shoes as innovative as Marty McFly’s self-tying sneakers. Although we have yet to see a pair a self-tying sneaker as similar to the iconic pair in ‘Back to the Future’, here are some of the most innovative sneakers to date!
The Greatest Innovation in Sneakers – Self-Tying Sneakers!
The sneakers featured in ‘Back to the Future’ were iconic mainly due to the fact that they were from the top shoe company and brand in the world, Nike, but not only that, were self-tying! A huge issue with sneakers is that a lot of people hate the tedious of work of having to always tie, or double tie them and can’t stand when their laces get dirty. Having the self-tie option like that featured in the famous futuristic movie showed audiences that there is hope for a more convenient and easier future for shoes. Well, many years after the movies adaptation of what they envisioned “future shoes” to look like, Nike finally made a shoe with a self-tying feature! The Hyper Adapt 1.0 are a pair of innovative sneakers that features pressure sensors in the sole that can sense when the user’s feet are inside the shoes in order to trigger automatic lacing. Similar to the pair features in ‘Back to the Future’, these shoes also feature an integrated LED like that also serves as way to tell the wearer that their shoes are running low on battery or are too much of a tight fit. Although the shoes are battery powered and require charging, one charge can last the shoes up to two weeks.
The Smart Shoe
Amongst the many different kinds of sneakers, at some point everyone finds themselves searching to but the perfect pair of gym sneakers. Although the culture and growth behind tracking personal health and physical activity is very prominent within smaller gadgets and technology, there have always been arguments over weather these gadgets are as accurate as they market themselves to be. Under Armour, has taken the initiative to create a smart shoe that can accurately track the wearers full physical activity and movement. The ‘UA HOVR Connected’ are a new innovation in sneakers in which there are in-built sensors that can record and track several important metrics such as pace, distance, steps, stride, and more. Although this technology might not be as popular for casual sport players or gym goers, these innovative sneakers are perfect for dedicated runners or gym enthusiasts who need to track their steps or distances to reach specific health goals. The most interesting aspect about these shoes are their ability to be synced the ‘Map my Run’ app in which the app can track and give stats about the wearers workout, allowing the user to set goal and letting them track how much more longer they have to go to reach their goals.
Want to learn more about an innovative sneaker? Check out the running shoes designed to make runners run faster!
The Innovation in Sneakers that Does It All
Originally starting out as a Kickstarter, The Digitsole is an innovative sneaker that can be described a shoe for all. The sneaker is described as a type of smart shoe that does everything anyone would want, as it carries numerous features that expand the boundaries of what we consider innovation in sneakers to look and be like. Amongst its numerous feature such as accurate step and distance tracking, the shoes also track date for the wearers amount of force, fatigues, poster and calories, providing more specific and detailed health insights and analytics than just the regular smart shoe would. Additionally, the shoe features Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity that can provide coaching and walking analysis to help the user keep track and awareness of how they walk. Finally, the innovative sneaker carries a unique design where, although it is not “auto-lacing”, the shoe features no laces at all, but rather an “auto-tightening” feature in which the front part of the shoe can adjust to the users’ foot. The shoe is also waterproof, battery powered, feature cushion monitoring and is capable of temperature regulation through heating the user feet through the heated insoles.
Pair your innovative sneakers with wearable technology in fitness! Such as the Mako Designed Kharaband.
If you have a great new invention and you’d like to learn more about this process, get in touch with MAKO here and visit our website to find out more. Feel free to give us a call at 1-888-MAKO and we can set you up on a call with our product analyst!
About: MAKO Design + Invent is the original firm providing world-class consumer product development services tailored to startups, small manufacturers, and inventors. Simply put, we are the leading one-stop-shop for developing your physical product from idea to store shelves, all in a high-quality, cost-effective, and timely manner. We operate as one powerhouse 30-person product design team spread across 4 offices to serve you (Austin, Miami, San Francisco, & Toronto). We have full-stack in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, patent referral, prototyping, and manufacturing services. To assist our startup and inventor clients, in addition to above, we help with business strategy, product strategy, marketing, and sales/distribution for all consumer product categories. Also, our founder Kevin Mako hosts The Product Startup Podcast, the industry's leading hardware podcast. Check it out for tips, interviews, and best practices for hardware startups, inventors, and product developers. Click HERE to learn more about MAKO Design + Invent!
