Popular fitness gear-maker Nike has launched the new generation of smart shoe Adapt BB series in New York. It is the successor of HyperAdapt 1.0, the company's first multipurpose performance shoe to feature power lacing.
In 1989, Nike had collaborated with the film production house to create a fictional pair of self-lacing shoes 'Nike MAG,' for the 'Back to the Future II' movie. In that, Marty McFly (played by Michael J Fox) was shown to wear a motorised shoe, which tightens hold with a press of a button. The company actually took the project seriously to turn science fiction to reality in 2015, the very year that was portrayed in the movie. But, Nike MAG 2015 was a limited edition, which was presented to Fox and the remaining 1,499 pairs were reportedly auctioned off.
In the following year, Nike finally released the consumer version— HyperAdapt 1.0 with powerlacing. Like the special edition 2015 model, it was a button-based model. To tighten the hold, the user had to press the power button in the shoes and also came with an expensive price tag of $720. But with the new Adapt BB series, users can do it with the smartphone app in addition to a physical button on the shoes and that too for half the price of the predecessor.
Here's how Nike Adapt BB shoes work:
The company claims that the Adapt BB is particularly designed for basket sports, because of the demands that athletes put on their shoes. During the game, athlete's foot constantly changes and the Adapt BB has the ability to quickly change the fit by loosening to increase blood flow and then tighten again so that it improves the athlete's experience.
"Once the player steps into the Nike Adapt BB, a custom motor and gear train senses the tension needed by the foot and adjusts accordingly to keep the foot snug. The tensile strength of the underfoot lacing is able to pull 32 pounds of force (roughly equal to that of a standard parachute cord) to secure the foot throughout a range of movement," Nike said in a statement.
Nike's Adapt BB is powered by FitAdapt technology and can be controlled by Nike Adapt app on a smartphone (compatible with both Apple iOS and Google Android platforms).
In addition to powerlacing and loosening, Nike Adapt app will allow users to set custom tightening for pre-match warm-up, loosen the shoes in the time-out and more features will be added via firmware update over time.
It can be noted that the Nike Adapt BB has undergone several tests for durability including taking 30,000 impact pulses at 780 pounds (around 354 Kg) of force, 40,000 button presses, 2,900 continuous lacing cycles from tight to loose, 5,000 cycles of flexing from left to right, tested under 140 F (60 C) degrees at 85 humidity, doused with 80 gallons of water under three minutes and 300 miles (around 483 Km) of running.
Since the Nike Adapt BB runs on Motor and needs to be wirelessly connected to the phone, it comes with a battery inside and it required three to four hours charging on the power pad. On the bright side, a fully charged shoes work for two weeks.
The new Nike Adapt BB will be initially available in the US for $350 and will be arriving in global markets from 17 February 2019.
