Nike makes strides in smart footwear with the self-lacing Adapt BB

By

Robin Driver

Published
Jan 15, 2019

International sportswear giant Nike, Inc. has unveiled the Nike Adapt BB: a smart self-lacing basketball shoe capable of altering its fit depending on the situation and the first product to be released as part of the brand’s new interactive Nike Adapt platform.

 
The shoe features an advanced power-lacing system which uses a custom motor and gear to sense and adjust tension in order to achieve an accurate fit for the wearer.
 
FitAdapt firmware in the shoe connects it to the Nike Adapt app, allowing users to input custom fit options to suit their needs at different points in a basketball game, tightening or loosening the laces as appropriate. It is also possible to adjust the fit of the shoe using buttons on its side.

Users will be able to sign up for firmware updates, which will provide them with an increasingly precise fit and give them access to new digital services as they become available, making the shoe the “first continually updated performance product from Nike,” according to a press release from the brand.
 
In the longer term, the Nike Adapt platform ultimately seeks to create products which allow users to opt in to share data about their activity with Nike in order to receive personalized guidance and new product and service suggestions from the brand.
 
“Our long-term vision for innovation at Nike is a world in which intelligent products adapt at the speed of sport to improve an athlete’s performance,” explained Michael Donaghu, Nike’s VP of innovation, in the brand’s release. “For most footwear out there, buying the shoe is the end of a transaction. But here, buying the shoe is just the beginning.”
 
According to Nike, the Nike Adapt BB has been rigorously tested for its resistance to impact, heat and humidity, and has also been taken for a test drive by a group of professional basketball players including Boston Celtics small forward Jayson Tatum.

The performance footwear will, however, have to be charged every 10 to 14 days on a charging pad provided with the shoes. 
 
Priced at $350, the Nike Adapt BB will be available for purchase from February 17, when the first FitAdapt functions will also be made available.
 
Nike plans to expand the technology to other sport and lifestyle categories outside of basketball later this year.