PUMA, the leading footwear brand in collaboration with MIT Design Lab, has rolled out XETIC, a cushioning technology that combines mechanical cushioning and foam. The technology was recently introduced in the brand’s new street-ready sneakers called Calibrate Runner and are proven to provide extra comfort while walking.
The name XETIC has been derived from the name of ‘auxetic materials’, structures that behaves in certain way in presence of any mechanical stress. The PUMA and MIT Design Lab team partnered with extensive runner community to analyse the pressure points based on which the product was developed with extra detailing for progressive cushioning. The result was a structure shaped like the horizontal number 8.
Moreover, many qualitative and quantitative user testing were used over the course of the project along with a novel finite element analysis simulation and parametric design to derive the perfect pattern named ‘Recurve’.
“With its visible XETIC technology, Calibrate Runner has a unique futuristic aesthetic to appeal to the techiest of streetwear collectors, while giving athletes access to a new era of cushioning,” said Romain Girard, Senior Head of Innovation at PUMA.
The collection is now available in Asia followed by its launch in other parts of the worlds this month.
