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.
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.