Shift Robotics Releases "The World's Fastest Shoes"

The Moonwalkers are a pair of battery-powered sneakers that Shift Robotics, a robotics and engineering company based in Pittsburgh, has just unveiled. The Moonwalkers, dubbed the “world’s fastest shoe,” help increase walking speeds by up to 250%.

Eight polyurethane wheels and a gearbox are driven by a cutting-edge brushless DC motor to create the illusion of much larger diameter wheels while climbing over uneven ground. The Moonwalkers can be operated entirely without using your hands. They have a range of six miles, can be fully charged in just 1.5 hours, and can be quickly switched to “Lock” mode for stair climbing.

You should consider them more like a travelator for your feet rather than powered skates. “Skates are not moonwalkers. They’re footwear. The founder and CEO of Shift Robotics, Xunjie Zang, claims that the shoes are actually the fastest in the world. For $1,099 USD, backers of this project can find them on Kickstarter, with delivery scheduled for March 2023.