Moonwalkers: shoes that claim to make you walk 250% faster

[boingboing]

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/05/13/shoes-that-claim-to-make-you-walk-250-faster.html

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[euansmith]

Armoured Trooper Votoms, incoming!

[sqlrob]

@boingboing

they aren’t just “heelys for grownups” the video explains. They’re powered by brushless motors and machine learning.

Sooo, heelys for cryptobros?

[jeddak]

Wonder how they’d be when you’re running down a staircase to a NYC subway platform to make a train that’s about to leave.

Also, ‘brake’, not ‘break’.

[ashe]

You end up moving faster, but you burn more calories. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s not like riding an electric bike/scooter/conveyance.

Are The Moonwalker Electric Shoes a Good Idea?

[sqlrob]

@ashe

You end up moving faster, but you burn more calories.

Burn more calories without trying any harder?

[ashe]

No, you have to try harder as you are essentially wearing 5 lb ankle weights.

As he says in the video, if they can get the weight down this would be a better product.

[andyf]

Actually, looking at the specs here: https://shiftrobotics.io/products/moonwalkers, it’s only 150% increase (it claims 2.5x normal walking speed which is not a 250% increase)

[KathyPartdeux]

I wish them well. As they say in the theatre- break a hip!

[Mercenary_Garage]

[ycleptShawn]

So, powered roller skates? Makes good sense now that we are perfecting small electric motors.

I used to feel like a giant when I skated through Manhattan and Brooklyn on my rollerblades. Then you have to take them off and put on shoes. But it’s amazing. For me, better than bicycle because you could get out of the way of cars better. But when you do a header into the asphalt because someone strung a giant hose across the road, it does sting a bit.

[mmascari]

@ashe

You end up moving faster, but you burn more calories.

So, another advantage?

Burning some more calories would be good for me.

[ashe]

@ashe

you burn more calories. Not necessarily a bad thing

Exactly, hence my “…you burn more calories. Not necessarily a bad thing…”.

[sdmikev]

When I was a kid (showing my age) -

[kevind]

They “automatically break”? That’s convenient.

[hecep]

Also, just while standing on the platform. Even if the shoes were in ‘lock mode’, how would you handle someone pushing you hard from behind?

[MikeTheBard]

Hailed by their inventor, the first electric shoes often obtained speeds of 5-7 kph.

[Flossaluzitarin]

In before they scream as the brakes get down to their last hundred brakings or somone brings giant drilled rotors into play. Also heavy oblivious walkers with these (see Votoms above.)

[Flossaluzitarin]

Wow, where are the reviews by skaters and trail runners, vimeo? (Just saw the Clarkson’s Farm where they get a hovercraft to spray a field. Not one so large and Lambourghini-built that you don’t steer it by leaning, but we’ll see how it works with the decks or shoes when the 20x battery densities from multiwall carbon nanoblobs or fancier roll around.)