Nike just announced self-lacing sneakers inspired by 'Back to the Future'

It may no longer be 2015, but battery-powered self-lacing sneakers are finally going to be a reality.

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Nike announced the release of the Nike HyperAdapt 1.0 on Wednesday, the company's first, powered self-lacing sneakers that will be available for purchase.

The long-awaited kicks will be available around the holidays this year.

No word yet on price, but in the immortal words of Marty McFly, "Power laces, alright!"

Nike Product placement in back to the future
Film Still
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Meet the Nike HyperAdapt 1.0

nike hyperadapt
Nike

A sensor in the heel of the shoe automatically tightens the laces when you step in, and two buttons on the side of the shoe tighten and loosen the lases. "You can adjust it until it's perfect," Tiffany Beers, a senior innovator at Nike who was the technical lead on the project, said in a statement.

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The idea of powered, self-lacing sneakers has been batted around since at least 1989, when Marty McFly, Michael J. Fox's character in "Back to the Future: Part II" wore a pair.

There been rumors that Nike had for years been working on shoes that used such technology, but this is the first pair that will be widely commercially available. (The company made a special pair for Fox and delivered them to him on October 21, 2015, which is officially "Back to the Future Day.")

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The shoes have been years in the making.

nike hyperadapt
Nike

According to Nike, the company worked for years on getting the technology right, and it even experimented with a snowboard boot that had an "external generator."

 

The laces can be adjusted "on the fly."

nike hyperadapt
Nike

"Undue pressure caused by tight tying and slippage resulting from loose laces are now relics of the past," Nike says. "Precise, consistent, personalized lockdown can now be manually adjusted on the fly."

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Future versions of the shoe, however, will adjust automatically while in use.

nike hyperadapt
Nike

“Wouldn’t it be great if a shoe, in the future, could sense when you needed to have it tighter or looser?" Nike designer Tinker Hatfield said in a statement. "Could it take you even tighter than you’d normally go if it senses you really need extra snugness in a quick maneuver? That’s where we’re headed. In the future, product will come alive.”

The shoes will go on sale during the holidays, but will only be available to people who are members of Nike+, the company's free loyalty program.

nike hyperadapt
Nike
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Here are the HyperAdapt 1.0 shoes in action.

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