Adidas Unveils Smart Soccer Shoe Endorsed by FIFA
Sports gear maker and soccer market dominator Adidas introduced a new soccer shoe that features some interesting technology including a chip that can collect data if worn by a player during a game.
“We’re able to show you what you did, give you the key metrics of your game, and enable you to compare this to your previous performances, the performance of your friends, competitors, or out global stars,” said Ryan Mitchell, head of product introduction team in Adidas’ interactive business unit to Smarthouse.com.
Adidas specialized in dominating the market when it comes to producing soccer shoes since the 1920s and this seems like a bid for them to forever cement its throne.
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The new shoe comes with a chip embedded within it called the Speed Cell, according to a recent Bloomberg Businessweek report.
This shoe was recently worn and endorsed by two-time FIFA World Player of the Year Lionel Messi during an exhibition game in September.
The new soccer foot apparel came out in Latin America, Europe, and Asia Nov. 15 and should hit shelves in the United States Dec. 1.
Adidas currently controls one-third of market that is worth 6.8 billion a year.
“Adidas has a heritage in football [soccer] that Nike doesn’t have, and its innovations should bring more growth,” said Joerg Frey, an analyst at M.M. Warburg in Hamburg to Smarthouse.
The new shoe is a version of the Adizero f50 that was introduced last year and is currently the lightest footwear on the market.
It weights 165 grams for a men’s size 8.5.
The chip inside the shoe weights 8-grams and it is inserted beneath the sole that transmits data on various aspects of the player’s performance including maximum speed, distance covered, and number of sprints to a computer or mobile device.
It implements the miCoach system that Adidas launched in 2006 that is used to monitor a runner’s performance.
The speed cell “is able to measure speed and distance in all 360 degree movements,” according to Mitchell.
The new shoe comes in a package that includes the shoes, a speed chip, and software to analyze the data on a smartphone or computer.
It currently retails at $338.
