Sports

Puma unveils Fi self-lacing trainers

Puma unveils Fi self-lacing trainers
The first Fi shoes should be available next year
The first Fi shoes should be available next year
View 6 Images
The complete Fi system
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The complete Fi system
The first Fi shoes should be available next year
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The first Fi shoes should be available next year
Fi incorporates cables that run through the shoe's upper, and that also go through an electronic module on the shoe's tongue
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Fi incorporates cables that run through the shoe's upper, and that also go through an electronic module on the shoe's tongue
Users can fine-tune the Fi's fit via a smartphone app, plus they can adjust it while they're running, using their Apple watch
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Users can fine-tune the Fi's fit via a smartphone app, plus they can adjust it while they're running, using their Apple watch
The first Fi shoes will be priced at $330
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The first Fi shoes will be priced at $330
After stepping into the Fi shoe, users simply swipe their finger upwards on the module
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After stepping into the Fi shoe, users simply swipe their finger upwards on the module
View gallery - 6 images

Back in 2016, Nike first announced its HyperAdapt 1.0 training shoes, which automatically tighten their laces around the wearer's foot. Now Puma is getting in on the self-lacing game, with its Fit Intelligence (Fi) line of footwear.

Unveiled this Thursday in Hong Kong, Fi builds upon the company's earlier AutoDisc system, which never reached the market.

It incorporates cables that run through the shoe's upper, and that also go through an electronic module on the shoe's tongue. After stepping into the shoe, users simply swipe their finger upwards on the module. This causes a micromotor within it to tighten the cables, securing the shoe to the foot – a proprietary sensing system reportedly "learns" the shape of the foot to ensure an optimum fit.

Fi incorporates cables that run through the shoe's upper, and that also go through an electronic module on the shoe's tongue
Fi incorporates cables that run through the shoe's upper, and that also go through an electronic module on the shoe's tongue

Users can subsequently fine-tune that fit via a smartphone app (it's possible to select different levels of tightness), plus they can adjust it while they're running, using their Apple watch. And when it's time to remove the shoes, a downwards swipe of the module loosens the cables back off.

Fi will first appear in a training shoe designed for workouts and light running. It should hit the market in the Spring of 2020 (Northern Hemisphere), priced at US$330 a pair.

Source: Puma

View gallery - 6 images
4 comments
4 comments
Smokey_Bear
Why isn't that guy wearing socks?
Josh!
Just what I always wanted. Shoes I can tighten with an App!
axio
because he actually wants to go barefoot.... never before has barefoot looked more appealing
Martin Winlow
@Joshua Tulberg - One day, when age and arthritis make tying laces (or even bending down to do so) painful to the point of being impossible to do, you might be glad of such technology.
In the meantime, for about $80 you can buy these which are almost as good... https://www.engelbert-strauss.co.uk/safety-shoes-s1-low/e-s-s1-safety-shoes-baham-1100030-93742-802.html?ItemOrigin=SEARCH