Want To Run 25MPH? Try These Bionic Boots...

Posted By Ibropalic on Aug 5, 2015 | 0 comments

These Bionic Shoes Let You Reach Speeds up to 25 MPH

As a child, every time I would get new shoes, I always had it in my head that they somehow let me run faster. I would always thank my mom for “buying me a speed boost.”

Well for 25 years, Keahi Seymour had a similar ideal. He dreamt about being able to keep up with animals. He began this journey at age 12, when watching a documentary about the movement of kangaroos. According to Seymour, the narrator said that the kangaroos move so quickly by using their Achilles’ tendons as springs to launch themselves forward. This pushed him to ask the question:

“Why not replicate that in a device that could propel a human?”

Then his drive took hold. From that day onward, he started sketching early designs for an elite type of shoe (that would blow my new Nikes out of the water), but ended up using ostriches as a model, because they run more akin to us humans.

Five years later, he impressively fashioned the first prototype. It was slapped together with old roller blades, bungee cords, and steel tubing; to top it all off, it was even ready to be tested. 200 models later, Seymour’s design has been nearly perfected, being able to rocket him forward at speeds of 25 miles per hour. Even the Flash would be impressed.

Prototype Speed Boots models

-1998 Model

Back when VHS players were still “all the rage,” Seymour had this design ready for use. The shoes sat nearly a foot off of the ground, but clocked in at speeds of 15 mph.

-2010 Model

Almost ten years later, Seymour used aluminum to craft the shoes to greatly reduce the weight. The old springs were also replaced with speargun tubing. With this design, wearers could move easier and faster.

-2012 Model

Just a mere two years after making his design lighter, Seymour was able to reduce the weight of the shoes even further. He constructed the model from carbon fiber and used snowboard shoes as a basis for securing his feet.