THESE HI-TECH SNEAKERS TELL YOU WHEN THEY NEED TO BE RECYCLED

When you put on a new pair of sneakers designed by Philippe Starck, the shoes will start tracking how you walk. A couple of weeks later, you’ll get custom insoles in the mail to help improve your gait. The shoe also knows when it wears out and you need a replacement—and then you can send back the first pair to be fully recycled.

 

These Hi-Tech Sneakers Tell You When They Need to be Recycled

 

Each shoe has an electronic module embedded under the insole, with sensors that share data via Bluetooth. “We built a technology that functions in each foot, and then the shoes talk together in real time and exchange information,” says Baliston founder Karim Oumnia. “You have a ‘walking DNA’: We all have a way to walk which is different from others.” The underlying tech is already used in podiatrist offices in Europe to help doctors design custom insoles; Baliston took the step of adding it directly to shoes.

 

Source: Adele Peters, Fast Company [5/11/23] 

Courtesy of Barry Block, editor of PM News