In the article “Smart Running Shoes:
Will They Change The Way You Run”, Lin (2017) claims that the advancement of
smart technology in running shoes can enhance the user’s performance. In 2012,
popular sports brands such as UnderArmour (UA), released their UA Speedform
Gemini 2 smart shoe which displays data such as muscle exhaustion, “cadence and
pace” and monitor the “shoe’s mileage” through a mobile app, MapMyRun. According
to Lin, in 2017, Altra smart shoes took it up a notch by not only making their
footwear stylish, but also implementing sensors to detect irregular foot
patterns and warn users through their “built-in” sole voice assistant to
correct their footsteps and pacing. Lin also mentions that the voice assistant
can prevent runners from any cumulative injury. On top of that, the shoes comprise
of breathability and feathery features that enhance the user's comfort. In
essence, smart running shoes have smart features that detect the runner’s foot
pattern and provide feedback to reduce running related injuries. However, owning
a pair of smart shoes is an excessive for the general consumers.
Firstly, smart shoes may not be attractive
enough for consumers. In order to make an impact in the running shoe industry, moreover,
smart shoes need to stand out more to attract general consumers. For instance,
Song (2019) mentions that a smartwatch which already had smart features that
can track runners “distance, pace, splits, cadence and stride length.” Comparing
this to a smart shoe with similar smart features, by looking at its popularity,
the smart shoe will lose out. Smart shoe will need a more appealing technology
that did not exist before such as adopting a new technology and implementing it
into a shoe to benefit the runners (Alger, 2015). What consumer is looking for
is the latest technology that can resolve their exigencies they need in their daily
life which Alger hinted it could be happening in the future, but not up to this
date.
Secondly, price plays a very
important factor for general consumers. Heater (2017) comments that a higher
tier of Altra smart shoe costs USD$220 and a lower tier one at about USD$150.
This means that a smart shoe cost twice
as expensive as a regular running shoe. Furthermore, Heater also states that
runners are expected to change their running shoes several times in a calendar
year as for frequent runners, their shoe soles will wear out quicker and eventually
require a replacement. Thus, it is not budget friendly as runners are expected
to change a new pair from time to time.
Even though runners have been worrying
about the menace of injury all the time, owning a smart shoe would not
necessarily prevent them from getting injured. Which Song then questions the
need of smart shoe for runners who already knew the basic running techniques
and do not need a replacement for the time being. Smart shoes can indeed assist
in correcting runners foot pattern and reducing the prone to injuries, but because
each individual have different running techniques, feedbacks from smart shoe
cannot satisfy everyone’s standards. In addition, Ross (2007) claims how
runners have been “eternally” facing injury issues and is unlikely that runner
can simply adjust to a new running technique and reduce their prone to injuries. Hence, despite
corrections by smart shoe, runners are still vulnerable to injuries. One will most likely able to reduce the risk of injuries from their
running experiences and continuous training.
In conclusion, the future of
smart shoes would be more constructive yet easy to use and mainstream to
attract the vast majority. However, one key point is that smart shoes should
have a perfect balance between price point and functions such that runners are
getting what they paid for.
Reference
Alger, K. (2015, August 25)
The rise and fall of the smart shoe – and why they could be on the way
back. Wareable. https://www.wareable.com/running/smart-shoes-875
Heater, B. (2017, April 16) Smart
running shoes won’t make you faster, but they could help you avoid getting
hurt. Tech Crunch. https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/15/altra-torin-iq/
Lin, N.
(2017, September 20) Smart Running Shoes: Will They Change The Way You
Run? Run Society. https://www.runsociety.com/opinions/smart-running-shoes-will-theychange-the-way-you-run/
Ross. (2007, September 24)
Running technique – is there a ‘right’ way to run? Sports Scientists. https://sportsscientists.com/2007/09/running-technique-is-there-a-right-way-to-run/
Song, V. (2019, February
05) I Thought Under Armours' Smart Running Shoes Were Gonna Be Dumb as Hell,
But I Was Wrong. Gizmodo. https://gizmodo.com/i-thought-under-armours-smart-sneakers-were-gonna-be-du-1832241172
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