The year is 2018 and we don’t have flying cars or a cure for cancer, but we have ketchup slices and could soon have sneakers with tiny treadmills in them. Innovation has failed us by missing the mark yet again. Nike is working on shoes with little treadmills in them and they aren’t even for exercise when two of every three American men are considered to be overweight or obese.
A patent filed in early May shows that Nike wants to install a small treadmill in their sneakers to make them easier to put on. Nike calls the advancement a “rotatable conveyor element.” The treadmill will be installed in the middle of the sole of the shoe so your foot can easily slip on. The shoe would also have a switch to start the mini conveyor belt or there could be a magnetic field sensor to detect when your footsies enter the sneaker. There will be a reverse motion to help take your shoe off.
You know damn well that these treadmills are going to snatch someone’s sock and shred it or a piece of skin and pinch your foot. There’s no timeline for this product or even if Nike will actually use this “technology” since it’s still in the research and development stage. Until this “advancement” is implemented in sneakers, you’ll have to put your shoes on like everyone else, one foot at a time with no conveyor belt. Or if you’re having that much difficulty putting your sneakers on go old school and get yourself a shoe horn.