Futuristic trainers developed by a London designer are designed to feel as though the wearer is gliding on an airport terminal moving walkway.
Royal College of Art graduate Frederick Phua used his skills as an innovator at Yamaha motorbikes to devise new ways of propelling Londoners more efficiently around the city under their own steam.
His City Glider shoes use a sliding blade in the sole and pneumatic pumps in the heel that combine to boost the wearer forward a little every time their heel strikes the ground.
It means each stride gives the wearer a small spring in their step as the energy transfers, supposedly adding just over 11 per cent extra distance every time.
Mr Phua said he came up with the idea after setting out to “augment walking” around cities of the future and increase people's threshold for the distance they would be willing to travel on foot.
The result was footwear looking like it could have been worn by Michael J. Fox's character Marty McFly in Back to the Future Part II, minus the lights and automatic laces.
Each City Glider shoe is said to weigh about the same as a Nike Air Max 95 and uses materials including thermoplastic polyurethane.
Mr Phua has built a working prototype, a size seven tested around the streets of Kensington, and has filed a patent for the design with the hope of marketing it in the future.
He said feedback from testers was that the sensation felt “graceful” and claims the wearer adapts to the unusual stride sensation relatively quickly.
Mr Phua said: “In order for mobility in future cities to work we have to rely on walking and take vehicles off the road.
“I wanted to design something that people wouldn’t find as an extra accessory that they have to put on.
“You’re walking as normal, but if you’re walking say 10 miles a day you’re actually covering 11 miles — you get that extra boost because it increases your stride length by 11.6 per cent, so naturally you’ll be a little bit faster.
"I hope people would use these shoes not to shorten their walks but to explore more."
