Innovation of the Week (week 43)
- Nike - Back to the Future celebration
- Oct 22, 2015
- 1 min read
In order to celebrate the Back to the Future tribute week, I hsve decided to make the innovation of week 43, the invention of the self lacing shoes!
Nike have announced that the power laces have been invented and are about to be available to the public next year. Currently Michael J Fox (the actor who plays Marty McFly) is the only one who owns a pair. Only few will be made and are only available for auction as the proceeds will go to the Michael J Fox Foundation. (other self lacing shoes will become a common shoe feature within NIKE brands available for all in the near future)
The NIKE Air MAG was designed by Tinker Hatfield. They work in parts; the ankle and the foot. Each part conatins indivual motors which tighten the laces/ straps by winding them around spools. The two strap moving mechanisms are automatically triggered after your body mass is detected by a weight sensor in the heel (’1606′ in fig. 17). However for further comfort the shoes include manual controls (1004 in fig. 10) for further adjustments. [Green button to tighten, red to loosen].The ankle cinching (belt) system in the high top part of the shoe (’124′ in fig. 22) uses a seperate mechanism (2222). The mechanism allows the strap to be wound by a coil in the back of the shoe and then is locked into place. The locking mechanism is released as the weight is removed from the central motor system.
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