"So we're really doing robot shoes, huh?" "Am I uneasy because this feels like the first step in the journey to those exoskeleton things the soldiers wore in Edge of Tomorrow ?" "Will people actually go for this?"

These are the questions bouncing around my head right now. Because today, Nike announced something called Project Amplify, an ambitious undertaking with a similarly ambitious-sounding name that feels at once optimistically futuristic and, also, like a vague portent of doom.

The basic idea is this: You have a pair of sneakers that can connect to a system powered by a rechargeable battery cuff that you wear on your calf. Inside that system—housed inside a hinged arm—are a lightweight motor and drive belt that augment the natural walking or running motion of your lower leg and a

See Full Page