For anyone looking for a boost on their morning run, Nike has launched the perfect solution – a pair of battery-powered shoes.
Called Project Amplify, the new prototype sneakers are described as the ‘world’s first powered footwear system for running and walking’.
Like having ‘a second set of calf muscles’, the shoes augment natural leg and ankle movements to propel you across the room or up a hill.
Nike posted photos of the creation on its Instagram page, leaving many users baffled by what they were seeing.
One said we’re ‘one step closer to the cyborg era’, while another said ‘this feels like an April fools joke’.
A third Instagram user said: ‘Humans are getting so lazy it’s unreal.’
However, some users seemed to like the invention, with one saying: ‘Older/ disabled people who are active will love this!’
Another said: ‘It will make you go to the office even if you don’t want to!’
Nike calls ‘Project Amplify’ the world’s first powered footwear system for running and walking
Created in partnership with robotics startup Dephy, Project Amplify gives ‘an unparalleled boost to anyone who wants to move’.
Allegedly, athletes who have tried the system says it feels like ‘part of their body’ and ‘makes walking or running uphill ‘feel like moving on flat ground’.
The futuristic sneakers each consist of a ‘cuff’ – what looks like a bracelet – fitted around the calf muscle, which contains a rechargeable battery.
This is connected to the carbon fiber-plated running shoe, which has a lightweight but powerful built-in motor.
As you begin to walk, the shoes start amplifying your movement – giving each foot a boost as it sets off and cushioning it when it lands.
According to early tests, it gives a roughly 20 per cent improvement, so that a 10-minute walk at your usual pace can be done in eight minutes.
Nike has compared Project Amplify to an electric bike, which similarly uses a battery and motor to assist the rider, making longer distances more feasible.
‘Electric bikes have made it easier to ride farther and more frequently, revolutionizing urban commuting,’ the company says in its statement.
Athletes ‘of all abilities and intensities’ have shared that the system feels like it’s part of their body and that it makes walking or running uphill feel like moving on flat ground
‘Nike is developing Project Amplify to make slower running, jogging and walking easier and more fun, with a focus on athletes running between a 10- and 12-minute mile pace.’
Already, more than 400 athletes have covered over 2.4 million steps, the equivalent of roughly 12,000 laps around a 200-metre track, with the shoes.
Nine different versions of the hardware have already been developed, with each iteration ‘focused on refining a different element of the system’ prior to this finished prototype.
And Project Amplify has been getting positive reviews for those who have tested the innovation.
GQ, which tried the device at Nike’s LeBron James Innovation Center in Oregon, described it as like walking up ‘the escalator instead of the stairs’.
Meanwhile, Runner’s World called it ‘an engineering marvel’ and ‘the stuff of comic books’ with ‘no rigid limitation on your natural movement’.
Nike said Project Amplify isn’t intended for competitive runners trying to shave seconds off their time, but for everyday athletes who want to go faster and farther with less effort by when out for a run.
The contraption – compared by another Instagram user to Forrest Gump’s leg braces – may also assist people with mobility issues who want to help recover the ability to walk and run a bit faster.
The product, created alongside robotics partner Dephy, isn’t designed for competitive, faster runners trying to shave seconds off their time; rather, it’s intended to serve athletes who want to go faster and farther with less effort by giving them more power for everyday movement
Project Amplify is ‘still early in testing’, but Nike it aims to bring the footwear system to a ‘broad consumer launch’ in 2028.
The company calls this the ‘first-generation’ product, suggesting it will tweak the design, perhaps depending on user feedback.
‘Nike is blending art and science to reach performance readiness,’ it says, adding that the ‘system breaks the perception of possibility’, adding movement to people’s lives.
It’s unclear how much a pair will cost; Nike has been contacted for more information.
