Cape Argus

Now Marty McFly’s self tying shoes are a reality

-

MONDAY MARCH 21 2016 THEY were first seen in BackTo The Future films more than a quarter of a century ago.

But now the self-lacing shoes of sci-fi have become a reality.

Nike has unveiled a pair of trainers that contain sensors to detect when the wearer puts them on.

Tiny pulleys inside each shoe then tighten the laces until the footwear is a snug fit.

The tightness of the trainers can then be adjusted at the touch of a button.

Nike claims athletes who wear the HyperAdapt 1.0 trainers will be more focused because they will not have to worry about lacing their footwear.

However, the hi-tech shoes, which have blue lights in the sole, will need to be recharged once a fortnight.

The trainers, unveiled at a glitzy event in New York, are Nike’s most significan­t entry to the “wearablete­ch” market currently occupied by the Fitbit and the Apple Watch.

They bring to reality the selftying shoes worn by Marty McFly in the 1989 film Back To The FuturePart­II.

Time traveller McFly lands in 2015 – by which time, the film predicts, they have been invented. McFly also rides a hoverboard, but his version floats on air while the boards currently marketed run on two wheels.

Nike says the HyperAdapt means “loose laces are now relics of the past”, adding the claim that it “(proposes an ultimate solution to individual idiosyncra­sies in lacing and tension preference”.

When the wearer puts on the HyperAdapt, a sensor calculates their weight and where their foot is. Battery-powered pulleys wind around spools to tighten each lace.

In the early versions of the HyperAdapt, users will be able to tighten and loosen the laces by pressing a plus or minus button on the side of each shoe. – Daily Mail

 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from South Africa