Amputee athletes are running faster than ever, thanks to hi-tech carbon fiber sports prosthetics. Now Nike has designed a shoe called the Nike Sole for those prosthetic running blades.
See a video of the shoe in action at Geekosystem. Link
Designed to work with the Össur Flex-Run blade, the Sole was a collaborative effort between Nike and triathlete Sarah Reinertsen. Like a normal running shoe, the Sole has an outsole and a midsole, and grips the carbon fiber blade with a material called Aeroply. Nike’s engineers even devised a clever system to secure the Sole to the blade, using an anchor and a rubber strip.
While it’s easy to dismiss this as either a cynical cash-in or an attempt to grab some good publicity, the Sole shows that a level of social acceptance and technological advancement where formerly insurmountable challenges now have consumer-grade solutions. I think we’re getting closer to the future, folks.
See a video of the shoe in action at Geekosystem. Link