Testing Shoes That Make You Walk 250% Faster | WIRED

What if you could walk way faster without trying any harder? Moonwalkers basically put an electric moving sidewalk right under your feet. WIRED's Brent Rose has some questions: Are they real? Are they safe? Are they actually any good? Brent goes inside Shift Robotics's research and development lab to get some answers.

Director: Wendi Jonassen
Director of Photography: Jeff Smee
Editor: Louville Moore
Host: Brent Rose
Talent: Dean Freitag, Xunjie Zhang

Producer: Alexandria Coccia
Line Producer: Joseph Buscemi
Associate Producer: Melissa Cho
Production Manager: Eric Martinez
Production Coordinator: Fernando Davila

Audio: Michael Ray
Cam Op/Gaffer: Mike DiGuglielmo
Production Assistant: Maria Bosetti

Post Production Supervisor: Alexa Deutsch
Post Production Coordinator: Ian Bryant
Supervising Editor: Doug Larsen
Assistant Editor: Andy Morell


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[sLaMzo]

I believe that's the most recognition a professional speed walker has gotten in history

[buttmanjenkins]

7:03 Absolutely incredible that using these things still looks less dorky than speed walking.

[frnaco]

Is hard to make a case to use this shoes in a high density area where you will be going faster than everyone so inevitably you will be stopping constantly and probably the time will end up being the same as just walking without them. This shoes really shine when there's a low amount of people in your way and probably in wide side walks where you can pass them. At first glance is a good idea.

[matthewwach]

I once knew a kid in high school that I would pass in the hallways. He would always walk like he was on a conveyor belt with zero bounce in his stride. I wonder what happened to him. I wonder if he's still walking level to this day.

[spamuel]

These sorts of robotic footwear are actually being tested with virtual reality headsets in lieu of omnidirectional treadmills or slidemills.

[wipis]

I feel like we'll see this in warehouses and delivery services within a few years.

[oximine]

Good video, but I’d like to see some more tests
1. Walking next to a normal walker to see how fast they are.
2. Longer use for an hour or so to see time saved and fatigue levels as well as battery life
3. How quickly are you able to change directions with them? Are you able to dodge if someone cuts in your path?

[DizzyTipsy]

7:01 when the teachers say “no running in the halls!”

[jonathanbarker]

The most shocking part of this is learning that both collegiate and professional speed walking is a thing

[zhuzhou]

We need a long shot of him walking next to someone else. It was so hard to compare and judge how fast he was actually going!

[kurtacus]

This feels like an escalators situation in which you're technically "supposed" to walk up and down an escalator to speed up your ascent or descent faster than a normal staircase. But what ended up happening is that people just rode up the escalator because...its just easier. So i could see these just being made to move without you needing to walk and just being electric skates that move for you

[Zraknul]

The speed walk race test makes me want to see how fast Dean can go in those things.

[ImagineGTAVI]

If you take them on moving sidewalks, your walking-life cannot get better.

[zibbitybibbitybop]

I think my main concern with these right now is whether or not you can change direction quickly enough to avoid obstacles, like other people or danger, like cars or bikes. I'd be concerned about reflexively trying to dodge out of the way and ending up falling on my face.

[BranMuffin]

As a disabled person, tech like this brings me so much hope for the future. A product like this could greatly improve quality of life for many people.

[DpcDm]

I learned in Malcolm in the Middle, that, when speedwalking, one foot always has to have contact with the ground. So Dean was actually cheating here: During multiple points in the competition, you can see both feet clearing the ground at the same time.

[PenNBrush]

I walk faster than most people without any enhancements, and most of the time I’m slowed down by others in front of me. I can’t imagine using those on the streets without jamming into people😂

[maggyblue]

I can see these being a huge hit at college campus! A lot of people use electric skateboards now but I think these Moonwalkers will be better received, especially considering their portability.

[jayking]

Big props for testing a product with wheels, somewhere other than the best-paved street in all of America, like everyone else does 👍 Very impressive little things

[JohnRonel-mk]

Is that abnormal titan i just saw? 7:21 I hope they have ODM gear