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Arduino and repurposed Nike

Davide GombaJune 3rd, 2010

Not long ago we have been inspired by this Nike Japanese advert about bendable instruments made out of shoes. Now it’s the time of rethinking the use of the shoe.

‘NIKE Levitation’

To me the shoes have a very pure function. Supporting, cushioning and softening the inevitable fall back down to earth. It was this relationship with gravity that gave me my starting point. I asked what would happen if the shoes didn’t have to fall back down to earth? What if they never touched the ground? How would their function change? I imagined them moving away from impact cushioning and towards a kind of spectacle. So this is what I decided
to make happen.

Actually making it happen was very challenging. After experimenting (and failing) with many different systems and methods, I finally settled on a system comprising an electromagnet and feedback system, at the heart of which is an Arduino micro controller.

more info after the break.

Sure, Nikes are well and good for running a lap, but they make quite an attractive aquarium, too. Just take off the upper part of the shoe; use it to model a new, transparent top; add water, goldfish, rocks, and greenery; and hope you’ve sealed the thing up right.

That’s what Akio Iida, Daisuke Maki, Michiyo Ooi, Kuki Aakaeda, Genki Ito, Takeshi Kogahara did. The designers from Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo LAB created their Nike Air Abuku (Japanese for “bubble”) as part of Nike78, a design challenge conceived by graphic design student Paul Jenkins that’s tasking participants with rethinking the function of a new pair of Nikes.

via [CnetNews] and [Nike78]

One Response to “Arduino and repurposed Nike”

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