LEGO teamed up with the folks at Adidas Originals with a new pair of sneakers that'll be released this week. This isn't the first time this sort of team-up has happened, and it won't be the last. This time, in a move that's both shocking and ... unfortunate ... the sneakers won't be for sale to the public. They'll be available through a raffle system, and only produced in limited numbers right out the gate.
Bridging the physical and digital worlds has always been a dream for many tech companies, especially when it can create new experiences that, in turn, generate sales or customer engagement. That dream is even bigger for games that want to extend their reach beyond computers and phones. adidas, Google, and EA Sports may have just made that dream come true in an odd yet ingenious way that involves putting a small tracker inside your adidas shoes.
Fitbit's latest play for your wrist is the Fitbit Ionic: Adidas Edition, with an exclusive Adidas Train app that focus on cardio, strength, and flexibility training. Based on the Fitbit Ionic smartwatch, the Adidas version gets custom hardware and software, including a two-tone breathable sport band in Ink Blue and Ice Gray, on a Silver Gray aluminum case.
Adidas has been experimenting with different ways of manufacturing sneakers for a few years now, from using recycled ocean plastic to a single piece of leather to 3D printing, all under the Futurecraft name. The company hopes to one day use the latter method for mass-production, and has just unveiled their attempt, the Futurecraft 4D, which it plans to sell 5,000 pairs of by the end of this year.
Adidas has introduced its new ALL DAY fitness app designed to motivate athletes and fitness enthusiasts throughout the entire day, staying relevant morning through night. The app focuses on four core categories that Adidas says drives performance and wellbeing among athletes: Movement, Nutrition, Mindset, and Rest. When the app launches, it'll include things like workouts from well-known trainers, diet tips from chefs, and more.
Clothing looks and feels best when it is tailored, but few people use tailoring services with any sort of regularity. The reasons for that are numerous, and likely involve inconvenience as much (or more so) than the cost factor. The future may hold the solution, though, and that solution may come in the form of machine-produced custom-fitted clothing items made to a buyer’s exact body shape and measurements.
Adidas isn't exactly being forthcoming with all the details on what its new Speedfactory really is. It appears to have something to do with a faster robotic manufacturing process that is more sustainable and allows Adidas to churn out shoes that are more customizable than the norm. Exactly how they are pulling all this customization and futuristic manufacturing off, we are left to guess.
Adidas will be opening a facility in Atlanta, Georgia next year in order to bring its shoe manufacturing closer to its U.S. customers. The catch? The facility will, in part, employ robots to make its shoe production rate rapid, hence the new upcoming factory's "speedfactory" designation. The facility won't be entirely manned by robotic machinery, though, as Adidas says it will also be creating 160 jobs for local workers, and that's never a bad thing.
Back in December, adidas and Parley for the Oceans detailed a running shoe made with ocean plastic. Now, half a year later, adidas has showcased a finished pair of those shoes, as well as providing pictures and details about the process used to create them. A bunch of work went into collecting, then cleaning and processing plastics found floating in the ocean, turning it into a type of teal green yarn.
Adidas has a new wearable, and it is designed for students as a way to encourage exercise. Called the Adidas Zone, this wearable keeps track of the user’s heart rate and makes the data available in a cloud-based system for PE instructors to access. As such, students are able to see when they raise their heart rate and to what level, while instructors can assess a student’s exertion and better tailor activities to students' needs.
Last summer Adidas showed off a running shoe that had an upper made from trash found floating in the oceans. Adidas and Parley are back for a new running shoe with a sole and upper that is made from trash found floating in the oceans. The running shoe is made with a 3D printed ocean plastic midsole.
While the shoe does still need support of a sole - and strings, of course - this Adidas shoe needs but one piece of leather. The upper bits of this Originals Superstar are cut from a single piece of material, making use of the company's newest innovations in what's called the Adidas Futurecraft series. We previously showed you the first chapter in this story, one in which Adidas created the sole of a shoe using a 3D printer for otherwise-impossible shapes for support.