--- title: "Nike’s New Sneaker Contains an Exoskeleton to Boost Your Leg Performance" description: "Nike has shown off an intriguing new pair of shoes, dubbed Project Amplify, that it claims to be the \"world’s first powered footwear system.\"" date: "2025-10-26" modified: "2025-10-26" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/nike-sneaker-exoskeleton-boost-performance" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Computing" - "Devices" - "Health & Medicine" - "Prosthetics and Devices" - "Robots and Machines" --- # Nike’s New Sneaker Contains an Exoskeleton to Boost Your Leg Performance ![Nike has shown off an intriguing new pair of shoes, dubbed Project Amplify, that it claims to be the "world’s first powered footwear system."]() *Nike* Nike has shown off an intriguing new sneaker that it claims is the "world’s first powered footwear system." The project, dubbed "Project Amplify," is essentially an exoskeleton for your lower leg and foot, strapping an ankle movement-augmenting motor, drive belt, and rechargeable battery to a carbon fiber-reinforced sneaker. The goal, it says, is to provide an "unparalleled boost to anyone who wants to move," while "creating a new future for running, jogging and walking." Nike compared its project to "how electric bikes have made it easier to ride farther and more frequently," an intriguing comparison seemingly intended to emphasize that this isn't an accessibility play, like other [more fully-featured exoskeletons](), intended only for those with limited mobility. But besides causing even more drama on Strava, where [cheating scandals]() on leaderboards involving e-bikes have become all too common, we're not convinced Project Amplify will catch on in the mainstream. Nike has already garnered a reputation for outlandish concepts, most notably its "Back to the Future"-inspired [self-lacing shoes]() — which, as you can tell from nobody around you wearing them, never really took off. "The Amplify makes your 5K PR feel like a casual trot, and a casual trot feel like a gentle stroll," *GQ*'s Calun Marsh [wrote]() after taking a pair for a spin. Marsh wrote that a two-story ramp on a 45-degree angle at Nike's LeBron James Innovation Center in Beaverton, Oregon, which had winded him earlier that day, "felt like taking the escalator instead of the stairs" while wearing the new shoes. Apart from Project Amplify, Nike also announced a slew of other "athlete-focused" products to help them "perform at their peak," including a "[neuroscience-based footwear]() to help athletes feel calm," a [jacket]() that provides "dynamic warmth and personalized thermal control," and a [new fabric]() that's "capable of channeling more than double the airflow of legacy Nike athletic apparel" intended for a "hotter world." Nike promises that it's planning to "bring the footwear system to a broad consumer launch in the coming years." Just don't wear them during a race — or risk being disqualified on the spot. **More on Nike:** [*Reality Hits for "Art" Collectors as Million-Dollar Nike NFTs Vanish From Internet*]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()