Robotics

Olympian to sport On sneakers made by robotic automation

Paris Olympics hopeful Helen Obiri of Kenya will sport high-tech shoes developed by Swiss startup On.

Image: Adobe Stock

July 16, 2024

Paris Olympics hopeful Helen Obiri of Kenya will sport high-tech shoes developed by Swiss startup On, according to a report from the New York Times.

Obiri plans to wear the Cloudboom Strike LS shoes, which were made using proprietary automation and robotics systems.

The shoes weigh 170 grams (approximately 0.37 pounds) each and were made without laces or heel cap from a synthetic monofilament via robotic extrusion and engineered specially to Obiri's feet.

The shoes are designed to be much more sustainable than mainstream competitors and are made through a highly automated production process, with only seven components as opposed to 150-200, which are typical for mainstream competitors, according to the report.

"When you trust the shoes, you have that mentality, like, 'I'm going to run fast,'" Obiri said in the report.