4 ms·

This seems as overengineered as Juicero. Technology for technology's sake.

SilverRed 6y ago
Sure, this shoe is a marketing piece, but this kind of tech could be the way forward to end forced/child labor in china used to produce the average shoe. If Adidas can solidify the tech and pave a way forward, this could be huge.
- sorenjan 6y ago
  This article is about automatic weaving of the upper[0], combined with a separate 3D printed sole. That's not done by forced or child labor today either[1], the supposed added value is a bespoke upper tailored to your feet by 3D scanning them first. That's not something that's really needed, regular uppers are flexible enough to work with different feet already, and it certainly isn't a way to produce the average shoe. [0] https://www.adidas.com/us/blog/562694 https://www.adidas.com/us/blog/562694 [1] https://www.sneakerfactory.net/2020/04/knit-shoe-construction/ https://www.sneakerfactory.net/2020/04/knit-shoe-constructio...
wombatmobile 6y ago
The human foot is a strong and complex mechanical structure containing 26 bones, 33 joints (20 of which are actively articulated), and more than a hundred muscles, tendons, and ligaments. I suppose you are thinking "Why should I care, those Walmart sneakers fit me just fine" but if you had to pay podiatrist $400 for custom orthotics every year this article would get your attention. TFA says the first applications are for elite athletes. Pravda says this is potentially a way to free the poorest paid workers of the world from some of the most difficult repititious labour. Isaac Asimov says in the future lots of things will be made this way. What will all the people be doing in the future when all the work is done by machines? Some of them will be writing novels, and editing documentaries, about how the world used to be before robots.
- sorenjan 6y ago
  > The human foot is a strong and complex mechanical structure containing 26 bones, 33 joints (20 of which are actively articulated), and more than a hundred muscles, tendons, and ligaments. And evolved to walk to walk barefoot. > I suppose you are thinking "Why should I care, those Walmart sneakers fit me just fine" No, I use comfortable quality shoes. But most feet aren't that unique that a massproduced shoe that conforms to them after a break in period wont fit them. > Pravda says this is potentially a way to free the poorest paid workers of the world from some of the most difficult repititious labour. Do you expect millions of low price shoes to be produced by specialized machines after taking a 3D scan of your foot? > What will all the people be doing in the future when all the work is done by machines? I don't have anything against machines or robots, just as I don't have anything against regular juice presses. You can automate those jobs with more conventional robots. Having custom shoes printed to order is not a realistic production method for the vast majority of shoes sold. When it comes to bespoke equipment for a handful of elite athletes or rich hobbyists anything goes of course, you can already buy 3D printed bike saddles and handle bars, but this is not the future of shoe manufacturing for the masses.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- Qahlel 6y ago
  > What will all the people be doing in the future when all the work is done by machines? There will be a lot of poor people with no income. That is not a recipe for a good ending.
  - wombatmobile 6y ago
    Of itself, automated production is not a recipe. It is just a factor of production. Society could be organised a number of different ways, post-automation, just as it has been organised in various ways since the end of slavery (in some geographies and forms).
  - cjohansson 6y ago
    You can use that line of reasoning for anything, like prostitution, hitmen, drug-dealers.. Work is not necessary for surviving really, we are just used to it for some centuries
gnopgnip 6y ago
That really depends on your perspective. Sure, no one needs a shoe where the design and manufacturing is broken down all the way to each individual thread. And the vast majority of people wouldn't notice a difference wearing footwear made 20+ years ago. But that doesn't mean all innovation is pointless either. A new way of manufacturing won't have the same tradeoffs and limitations, the setup costs, tolerances, material properties. Direct injection is how Adidas makes something like 350 million pairs of shoes a year now. And they have been selling 3d printed soles with knit uppers for a couple years now. The innovation in this story is more about the design and the manufacturing process than the materials. You can't buy size 13.5, or wide or narrow(except a few models), or a pair where one is a half size smaller or larger traditionally. And beyond just the sizing, there is a lot more aesthetically when you are customizing at the individual level.

Sure, this shoe is a marketing piece, but this kind of tech could be the way forward to end forced/child labor in china used to produce the average shoe. If Adidas can solidify the tech and pave a way forward, this could be huge.

sorenjan 6y ago
This article is about automatic weaving of the upper[0], combined with a separate 3D printed sole. That's not done by forced or child labor today either[1], the supposed added value is a bespoke upper tailored to your feet by 3D scanning them first. That's not something that's really needed, regular uppers are flexible enough to work with different feet already, and it certainly isn't a way to produce the average shoe. [0] https://www.adidas.com/us/blog/562694 https://www.adidas.com/us/blog/562694 [1] https://www.sneakerfactory.net/2020/04/knit-shoe-construction/ https://www.sneakerfactory.net/2020/04/knit-shoe-constructio...

wombatmobile 6y ago

The human foot is a strong and complex mechanical structure containing 26 bones, 33 joints (20 of which are actively articulated), and more than a hundred muscles, tendons, and ligaments. I suppose you are thinking "Why should I care, those Walmart sneakers fit me just fine" but if you had to pay podiatrist $400 for custom orthotics every year this article would get your attention. TFA says the first applications are for elite athletes. Pravda says this is potentially a way to free the poorest paid workers of the world from some of the most difficult repititious labour. Isaac Asimov says in the future lots of things will be made this way. What will all the people be doing in the future when all the work is done by machines? Some of them will be writing novels, and editing documentaries, about how the world used to be before robots.

sorenjan 6y ago
> The human foot is a strong and complex mechanical structure containing 26 bones, 33 joints (20 of which are actively articulated), and more than a hundred muscles, tendons, and ligaments. And evolved to walk to walk barefoot. > I suppose you are thinking "Why should I care, those Walmart sneakers fit me just fine" No, I use comfortable quality shoes. But most feet aren't that unique that a massproduced shoe that conforms to them after a break in period wont fit them. > Pravda says this is potentially a way to free the poorest paid workers of the world from some of the most difficult repititious labour. Do you expect millions of low price shoes to be produced by specialized machines after taking a 3D scan of your foot? > What will all the people be doing in the future when all the work is done by machines? I don't have anything against machines or robots, just as I don't have anything against regular juice presses. You can automate those jobs with more conventional robots. Having custom shoes printed to order is not a realistic production method for the vast majority of shoes sold. When it comes to bespoke equipment for a handful of elite athletes or rich hobbyists anything goes of course, you can already buy 3D printed bike saddles and handle bars, but this is not the future of shoe manufacturing for the masses.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
Qahlel 6y ago
> What will all the people be doing in the future when all the work is done by machines? There will be a lot of poor people with no income. That is not a recipe for a good ending.
- wombatmobile 6y ago
  Of itself, automated production is not a recipe. It is just a factor of production. Society could be organised a number of different ways, post-automation, just as it has been organised in various ways since the end of slavery (in some geographies and forms).
- cjohansson 6y ago
  You can use that line of reasoning for anything, like prostitution, hitmen, drug-dealers.. Work is not necessary for surviving really, we are just used to it for some centuries

gnopgnip 6y ago

That really depends on your perspective. Sure, no one needs a shoe where the design and manufacturing is broken down all the way to each individual thread. And the vast majority of people wouldn't notice a difference wearing footwear made 20+ years ago. But that doesn't mean all innovation is pointless either. A new way of manufacturing won't have the same tradeoffs and limitations, the setup costs, tolerances, material properties. Direct injection is how Adidas makes something like 350 million pairs of shoes a year now. And they have been selling 3d printed soles with knit uppers for a couple years now. The innovation in this story is more about the design and the manufacturing process than the materials. You can't buy size 13.5, or wide or narrow(except a few models), or a pair where one is a half size smaller or larger traditionally. And beyond just the sizing, there is a lot more aesthetically when you are customizing at the individual level.