As robotics continues to move from industrial applications into consumer products, footwear could be the next frontier. Nike’s Project Amplify prototype demonstrates how electromechanical assistance — once confined to rehabilitation and defence — is edging into mainstream use through advanced materials, miniaturised actuators, and adaptive control systems.
Developed with Massachusetts-based robotics company Dephy, Project Amplify integrates a lightweight motor, drive belt, and rechargeable cuff-mounted battery into a carbon fibre-plated running shoe. The system provides powered support to the lower leg and ankle, effectively augmenting the user’s natural gait. Nike’s aim is not to make professional athletes faster but to make running and walking less physically demanding for a wider range of users.
A motion-control algorithm developed by the Nike Sport Research Lab (NSRL) interprets real-time movement data to adjust mechanical output with each stride. In testing, the result has been described as reducing the effort required for uphill running and allowing wearers to maintain pace for longer.
Michael Donaghu, Nike’s Vice President of Create The Future, said the project began with a simple question: “What if we could find a way to help athletes move faster and farther with less energy — and a lot more fun?” He describes Project Amplify as “seamlessly adding a little more power to your stride”.
So far, more than 400 athletes have taken part in trials, collectively covering 2.4 million steps in nine hardware iterations. Each version has refined key parameters including actuator power efficiency, weight distribution, and user comfort — all critical to ensuring the system feels integrated rather than mechanical.
For Dephy, the partnership demonstrates how robotics can be scaled for consumer use. The company’s existing work in powered exoskeletons for rehabilitation and defence provided the foundation for a smaller, lower-power implementation suited to footwear.
Nike’s involvement signals how mainstream brands are beginning to treat robotics not as external machinery but as embedded assistance. Where most wearable devices passively collect data, Project Amplify represents a shift towards active performance systems — products that sense, decide, and act.
The implications for the electronics industry are wide-ranging. Lightweight motors, efficient battery systems, and motion-adaptive algorithms are reaching the point where they can be integrated into compact, consumer-grade devices. As costs fall and power density improves, mechatronic assistance could become a feature of everyday products — from orthotics to outdoor gear and beyond.
In a cultural sense, this is not entirely new territory. The early-2000s Heelys offered a playful form of powered movement, albeit via a wheel rather than a motor. Project Amplify translates that idea into the language of robotics and biomechanics — moving from novelty to function.
Donaghu draws a line between Nike’s early material experiments and this latest venture into active systems. “It’s obviously a new innovation,” he said, “but the day Bill Bowerman poured rubber into the family waffle iron was the start of a journey to augment movement and create the future of sport. Project Amplify is a bold leap forward, crossing a new threshold of putting power directly into your stride.”
If the project reaches commercial release, it could mark the emergence of a new category within wearable electronics: powered motion assistance for everyday movement. For the robotics sector, it offers a glimpse of how electromechanical systems might eventually become as common as sensors or microcontrollers — embedded not in factories or laboratories, but in the shoes people wear every day.
