If there’s one thing that caught viewer’s attention in Back to the Future II, it was Marty McFly’s auto-lacing shoes. Most of us still remember seeing those Nike shoes lace up all by themselves in the 1989 classic and there have been many attempts to create such shoes over the years, today we introduce you to yet another. A company called Powerlace Technology has developed a auto-lacing shoe which doesn’t require any electricity, gears or springs to tie the laces all by itself.
Since there are no batteries required for the shoes to lace up by themselves there’s no extra weight to carry. The auto-lacing system is activated by a small lever that’s located at the lower rear end of the shoe. One simply needs to press down on it with the heel to activate the mechanism.
When the laces are in place the heel level is disconnected to avoid accidental release. There’s a second small lever on the heel’s outside which when pressed down with the heel automatically releases the laces. On the outside these laces have nylon with a steel inner which makes them durable for repeated use.
Powerlace Technology is seeking over $570,000 in crowdfunding via Kickstarter to bring these auto-lacing shoes to production. A limited number of shoes will be sold to backers for $175 because the regular $195 price is charged for each pair. Shipping is expected by May 2015.
Filed in . Read more about Crowdfunding and Kickstarter.