While the quest to find the perfect running shoe—one built just for you—may have been a dream for most runners in the past, that dream may become a reality soon. Brooks Running Company has partnered with Superfeet and HP Inc. to introduce the first customized performance running shoe based on personal biomechanics in the U.S., and we got a first look at the technology at The Running Event in Austin, Texas.
FitStation powered by HP is pretty much what it sounds like: an in-store station that combines 3D foot scanning with gait analysis and pressure mapping to create a shoe that fits perfectly to you. It’s worth noting that the goal here is not to correct a runner’s foot or flaws, but rather to simply create a shoe that feels comfortable and works with, not against, the individual.
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Here’s how it works:
- You start by filling in a profile with some basic info: name, weight, height, etc.
- You walk barefoot (or in light colored socks) naturally across a nondescript mat. The mat is only about four feet, or three strides long, so it won’t take up much real estate in stores. The system will analyze your gait, joint movement, and foot pressure.
- Next, you place one foot at a time on a glass box. The FitStation will scan each foot to create a 3D rendering.
- The FitStation will provide a summary with some insights, including basic stats such as the length and width of each foot and gait pattern, as well as some deeper insights. The whole process to set up your profile takes about 10 to 15 minutes, no longer than an average fitting at just about any running store.
- Finally, your personal FitStation analysis is translated into specific features for each shoe (think: amount of cushioning and height of the arch). State-of-the-art machinery produces your shoe with the features built just for you and then ships them to your home.
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At least, that’s how it works in theory. The technology we previewed was simply a demonstration of the process. The full service is scheduled for June 2018 in specialty running stores, and the manufacturing will be based out of Ferndale, Washington (home of Superfeet). In this demo, the main components customized by the FitStation were the midsole cushioning and the last, or the shapes the shoes are built on. You weren’t able to design or personalize any other part of the shoe, but that could be an added feature in the future. The hope is for the tech to advance to a point that runners will be able to get fit in-store and walk out with their own custom running shoes just minutes later, but time will tell if that vision comes to fruition.
For now, the ability to offer runners a customized shoe based on their personal biomechanics could be a game changer, especially if it comes at a reasonable cost. The FitStation partners are still determining price, but Brooks is aiming to offer this service at a very small—if any—upcharge, meaning you may be able to get custom running shoes for the price of a Brooks Levitate, which is $150.
Of course, there’s still a lot of work to be done on the customized footwear front, but the introduction of FitStation powered by HP means we’re closer than ever to a scalable system for customized footwear, which—regardless of what kind of runner you are—is pretty exciting.
