As part of a sponsored research collaboration with MIT Design Lab, PUMA created XETIC, a cushioning technology. With XETIC a new era starts by combining the worlds of mechanical cushioning and foam. This ultramodern performance innovation provides for an excellent comfort for walking and is first introduced in a new street-ready sneaker called Calibrate Runner.
Source: PUMA ENTERS NEW ERA WITH CUSHIONING TECHNOLOGY XETIC – PUMA CATch up
This is not a call out to say that Puma bit my design. I only made samples of the basketball shoe I created with 361 ten years ago. As a matter of fact most of the design elements belonged to 361. I couldn’t even get the shoe made how I wanted so I moved on. Design is a difficult thing because many ideas are already in existence. The goal is to find a new, exciting way to deliver technology to the consumer. What I called 3 Displacement Tech (3DT), Puma has collaborated with MIT Design Lab to improve upon with smaller shafts of displacement. These smaller pockets should provide a more responsive ride.
My tech was to provide heel cushioning for landing after rebounding or jumping. Puma has advanced that concept to a shoe that responds during every movement of the foot. They were smart enough, however, to roll the tech out in a lifestyle model named the Calibrate Runner.
While the futuristic visible technology of XETIC may look like 3D printing at first, XETIC is not made of plastic, it is foam. XETIC takes its name from “auxetic materials”, structures, which behave in a certain way when they are subjected to mechanical stresses such as compression. For XETIC, this means the cushioning provides an excellent comfort for all wearing occasions.
I’ve often written about how the overreliance of brands on heritage footwear (to capture lifestyle and casual wearers) leaves brands at the mercy of a company like Nike who is constantly developing and introducing technical advancements in performance. Nike develops, then moves the tech into lifestyle creating a conversation around development and creation. This allows for more storytelling to engage the consumer.
Puma needed a new technology. In the last three years they’ve been handed a lawsuit for their Jamming Technology (a copyright infringement on Nike’s Air bubble) and their NRGY Beads are the same BASF tech that adidas uses for Boost. Differentiation is a necessity to deliver more interest and XETIC looks to be interesting enough that if rolled out in an informative manner Puma could turn heads. Check out this video for the tech below and use the source link to read more about XETIC Cushioning.