Nike Filed a New Patent Expanding its Sensory Footwear Exploration

You didn’t think Nike had an entire campus in Oregon just to crank out Dunks and Air Max 95 colorways, did you? Somewhere in Beaverton, a performance engineering department is doing its best to bring us closer to the ground without sacrificing the comfort of a midsole, and a look at a new patent gives us a peek into the future of footwear.

Feet on the Future

Posted to Instagram by beloved industry egghead Sneaker Legal, a new Nike patent continues what the brand started with the Mind 001 and Mind 002, inventing a new air bubble made to compress into the foot when you step onto the ground, transferring the texture of whatever lies beneath to your foot.

To us, that sounds like the perfect recipe for a Mind 003 silhouette, or perhaps another Mind product down the line. In the early drawings showing off the air bubbles for the patent office, the shoe shows a sleek silhouette with two large air bubbles in the forefoot and heel.

Nike’s New Footwear Patent

Nike’s new sensory footwear patent isn’t tied to a specific model or release yet, as development usually takes years, not months. Still, getting a look into the future is always fun, and we’ll be looking out for more Mind-style sneakers going forward. To keep up with all the latest Nike news, download the Sole Retriever App.

Zach Harris

Zach Harris is a writer based in Philadelphia. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Vice, Complex, High Times, and more. He is obsessed with skateboarding and bowling. He is still looking for his first 300. For tips, reviews, and anything in size 10.5 - zach.h@soleretriever.com