Shift Robotics, an innovative American start-up, has recently introduced the AI-powered “Moonwalkers”. Resembling skates, these strap-on devices, when attached to your regular shoes, can potentially enhance your walking speed by a staggering 250%. The result? You might find yourself walking as fast as 11 km/h, effectively tripling the average human walking speed.
Founded by Xunjie Zhang, Shift Robotics aims to revolutionize everyday mobility. The inspiration for Moonwalkers arose from Zhang’s near-accident on a scooter during his daily commute. Reflecting on the incident, Zhang questioned the reasons behind the widespread reluctance to walk, especially given its safety, convenience, and eco-friendliness.
Identifying the slow pace and inefficiency of walking as the primary deterrent, the Shift Robotics team, including jet propulsion engineers from Carnegie Mellon’s Robotic Institute and a group of roboticists and sneaker designers, dedicated five years to crafting a solution. Their goal was not to replace walking, but rather to enhance it – hence the inception of Moonwalkers.
Unlike traditional skates, the Moonwalkers are not freewheeling. Instead, these intelligent devices rely on advanced machine learning algorithms to match their movements with yours. The result is a dynamic system that starts and stops with you, can lock to enable stair navigation, and can modulate speed when going downhill. Transitioning between modes is as simple as lifting and rotating your heel.
To illustrate this concept, Zhang compared the Moonwalkers to airport moving walkways. He elaborated, “The faster you walk, the faster the shoes walk with you.” Moonwalkers’ safety-first design ensures that unless the wearer is moving, the shoes remain locked. If any malfunction arises, the shoes can be easily removed using a magnetic buckle.
The user-friendly design doesn’t end there. Thanks to its adaptive AI, Moonwalkers can learn each user’s walking patterns within ten steps. Therefore, even with no prior experience, most users from a diverse age group, ranging from 15 to over 60, were reported to have adapted to the Moonwalkers in as little as 10 to 15 minutes.
The Moonwalkers project, launched on Kickstarter in October 2022, has raised almost $330,000 to date. With over 2,000 orders placed as of May 2023, the response from the public seems optimistic.
Currently available exclusively in the United States, a pair of Moonwalkers retails for $1,399. The company requires a refundable deposit of $50 to reserve a pair. Once the delivery date is confirmed, Shift Robotics will contact the customers to process the remaining payment of $1,349.99.
In conclusion, the Moonwalkers offer an exciting and innovative solution to pedestrian mobility. Whether it’s for a quick grocery run or an eco-friendly commute, the potential applications of this AI-powered device seem endless. Although currently limited to the US, there’s much anticipation for this innovation to expand its reach worldwide. It will be fascinating to watch how the Moonwalkers reshape the future of walking and influence mobility habits globally.
Product page: Shift Robotics
