If you've watched the 1989 blockbuster science fiction 'Back to the Future Part II', you will remember how the lead character, Marty McFly, played by Michael J. Fox, has a pair of sneakers from the future that have the uber-cool ability to tie the laces all by themselves.
Now, as we are about to approach 2020, we seem to have taken so much inspiration from sci-fi movies of the past that most of the gadgets what we have seen in such movies from the 1980s and 90s have actually made it to reality – take the Apple Watch, for example.
The world's largest sports shoe brand, Nike was said to be developing a 'Back to the Future' style self-lacing shoe for over a year, launched it earlier this year with a uber-fancy name called HyerAdapt and now Nike's rival Puma too seems to have a self-lacing shoe of its own.
Puma, which is the world's fourth largest sports brand after Nike, Adidas and Under Armor, is reported to release its first ever self-lacing training shoes that will take on rival Nike's high-tech and ultra-expensive HyperAdapt basketball sneakers.
Dedicated app
But unlike Nike, which gave it's self-lacing shoes a high-tech name tag, Puma will be calling its self-lacing just Puma Fit Intelligence shortened to just Puma Fi. The Fi, besides sparing you the effort of tying the laces, are connected to an app which enables the laces to be tightened and loosened according to your liking with the help of just a swipe of your finger.
The app is currently only compatible with an Apple iPhone or Apple Watch, but it will soon be made available on the Android platform too.
Come with rechargeable batteries
Of course, a self-lacing smart shoe won't be able to do what it does without the help of a battery and the Puma Fi is no exception. The shoes come with rechargeable batteries which are placed under each sole and can be charged via a wireless charging dock that comes bundled with the shoes. According to the shoe's designers, the battery should last about a week with normal usage. So, besides from charging your smartphone and your smart watch, you will soon be finding yourself charging your shoes too.
The Puma Fi is currently in testing stages and Puma is letting people check them out in Hong Kong. The shoes will probably go on sale next year and Puma might add some new colors besides stealthy grey that's being shown in the prototypes.
