They couldn't quite get there in time for Back To The Future II day, which arrived in October last year, but better late than never.
Nike has finally announced the release of a mass-market self-lacing shoe, realising the dreams that BTTF fans have had for almost 30 years.
The company has previously made occasional, one-off, real-life versions of the Air Mag trainers from the film, and they've teased a real available-to-the-public version for years, but finally - finally - it's going to happen.
When you step into the Nike HyperAdapt 1.0, your heel triggers a sensor that then automatically tightens the laces. We can only imagine how cool that is going to feel. There are then two buttons on the side to tighten or loosen the fit.
The blurb states, with ridiculous hyperbole, that "The shoe translates deep research in digital, electrical and mechanical engineering into a product designed for movement. It challenges traditional understanding of fit, proposing an ultimate solution to individual idiosyncrasies in lacing and tension preference."
IT LACES UP BY ITSELF, GUYS.
But they're not stopping there. The press release describes this as a first step towards a sentient shoe that knows, before you do, whether it needs to tighten or loosen.
Tiffany Beers, who has been the technical lead on the product, explains: “It is amazing to consider a shoe that senses what the body needs in real-time. That eliminates a multitude of distractions, including mental attrition, and thus truly benefits performance. Wouldn’t it be great if a shoe, in the future, could sense when you needed to have it tighter or looser? Could it take you even tighter than you’d normally go if it senses you really need extra snugness in a quick maneuver? That’s where we’re headed. In the future, product will come alive.”
OK, first we were excited, now we're a little bit scared. OK, now we're excited again.
The Nike HyperAdapt 1.0 will be available only to members of Nike+ beginning 'Holiday 2016' (we think this means Christmas) in three colours. To become a Nike+ member and sign up for notifications about the Nike HyperAdapt 1.0, you can visit Nike.com.
Take a look at some images below.
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