Sportswear brand Adidas has an experimental division called Futurecraft dedicated to finding new ways to build footwear. It’s been running for a few years already with several exciting projects under its belt. For example, there’s a shoe made from entirely-recyclable materials called Loop and a 4D midsole that demonstrates the revolutionary capabilities of 3D-printing in shoemaking.
The latest development from Futurecraft is STRUNG – a proof-of-concept sneaker with an upper made robotically from individually-wound threads. The demonstration sneaker’s upper was attached to a 4D sole – the company’s existing 3D-printed midsole technology. The company is confident it’s the smartest way to make an upper that’s stronger and lighter than ever before.
Adidas innovation designer Fionn Corcoran-Tadd told Dezeen:
Put simply, STRUNG is a totally new kind of textile that has never existed before. Knitting and weaving have been around for centuries, and for the first time, we can break away from the constraints of those more traditional materials. With the bespoke software and robotics, we can place threads of different material types in any direction, which is a first across industries.
STRUNG is a collaboration between Adidas and design studio Kram/Weisshaar. A robot is programmed to weave the upper from multi-directional threads according to the wearer’s exact requirements, including foot shape and stride.
Kram Weisshaar co-founder Clemens Weisshaar, said:
The robotic additive manufacturing environment allows us to create a lightweight upper where each thread is strategically placed for a seamless, lightweight fit. Delivering coded-in functionality in the exact spot where the athlete needs it within a single piece of material, free from inhibiting excess components or seams.
While the final product may look chaotic, each thread of yarn is intentionally placed. The strings are even color-coded: Yellow is more flexible and used in the forefoot while red is stronger and stiffer used around the heel, toe-box, and midfoot to prevent slip.
Corcoran-Tadd explained:
There’s a thread that’s in that heel region that’s only in the heel region. Because it’s by far the stiffest thread that we use in the upper. That was the area we needed to create the most support without much stretch. Whereas across the middle of the foot, towards the toes, there are fewer threads as there doesn’t need to be as much support for that part of the foot – plus, fewer threads mean greater breathability. Look closely, and there are visible gaps in the upper.
Clemens Dyckmans, an Adidas senior manager of future technology creation, added:
Even though you have, maybe, a stretchable yarn running from the front to the back of the shoe, in different sections, it fulfills different purposes or combined with the other threads creates different properties. The company is experimenting with different thread materials and has various threads with different properties. Some behave almost like a rubber band, and some are more like a steel wire.
How does it work? Broad athlete data and the wearer’s requirements are fed into a computer that programs the thread placement. The computer then instructs the robot on how to construct the STRUNG upper. There’s a lot of sports science data, so the computer has a good understanding of how athletes move and what their needs are. The designers can visualize their sneaker in a virtual environment before manufacturing them.
At the moment, Adidas is developing the STRUNG upper for the sort of elite road runner looking to participate in serious competitions. However, the company is striving to scale up production to hopefully deliver a commercially available shoe by late 2021 or early 2022.
Corcoran-Tadd said:
Futurecraft Strung is a moment in time where we focused on a particular athlete’s insight to push the technology forward. It’s a proof of concept shoe to show how broad Strung’s potential is, but also how targeted it can be. We have only scratched the surface of what’s possible, and the feedback we are getting from athletes is letting us know we are onto something fascinating.
It seems like Adidas wants to make a range of STRUNG sneakers – each suited for a different sport and runner profiles. It’s also experimenting with the idea of using the material for other products.
Adidas is not only experimenting with new materials and construction, but has set a goal to completely eliminate virgin plastic use by 2024, and it has made a football field out of 1.8 million plastic bottles.
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