Can artificial intelligence make a better shoe?
At this point, it may be hard to say for certain since the only footwear up for public sale from the startup Syntilay, which claims it has the first AI shoe, is a slide sandal, called "xplorer," priced at $149.
Syntilay, based in Boca Raton, Fla., uses 3D printing with thermoplastic polyurethane. The company's backers include Joe Foster, a co-founder of the athletic brand Reebok. The company also collaborated with Kedar Benjamin, an Indian shoe designer with experience in using AI in footwear, our sister paper Urethanes Technology International writes.
AI was used to create a shoe design from Benjamin's sketches. They're then 3D printed by Germany-based Zellerfield, which has also worked with Nike on 3D printing its products.
The shoes also use advanced technology to custom print each person's shoe, based on photos taken by the buyer.
The shoe certainly seems to be banking on the power of marketing buzzwords at this point, with the company website saying that Syntilay is "built on the [principles] that any person is capable of disruption. By wearing a pair of Syntilay shoes, you become a symbol of innovation."