Made by a robot: Swiss running shoe manufacturer On presents extremely lightweight high-tech shoe

The new On running shoe has a futuristic look and hugs your feet like a sock. What's missing are laces, a heel counter and reinforcements. This means that On is challenging pretty much everything that is considered a must-have for running shoes.

Kenyan runner Hellen Obiri has already proven that these shoes with the new approach are suitable for competition. She won the marathon in Boston in a prototype of the 170 gram "Cloudboom Strike LS". She will also be competing in these shoes at the Olympic Games in Paris.

Inspired by a Halloween toy

It's not just the design that's new. With the sock shoe, On created a novel manufacturing method that reduces a complex process of weaving, knitting, colouring, cutting and assembling to a single step. Within three minutes, a robot moulds the upper part of the shoe from a synthetic filament onto the sole made of plastic foam and carbon. According to the manufacturer, thanks to a new technology, this no longer even requires glue.

In the next step, the colour is printed on using inkjet technology. The shoe is ready after six minutes. This takes place at a fully automated production facility in Zurich. However, the soles still come from Asia.

The idea came to the On developer in charge when he saw a spray gun for Halloween from which plastic threads for decorative spider webs came out. He refined this idea into a method in which the upper part of the shoe is made from a single thin synthetic filament.

Less waste and local production

According to On, the automated manufacturing method significantly reduces waste during production. In addition, according to the manufacturer, CO2 emissions for the production of the upper material are reduced by 75 per cent compared to other On running shoes.

The fast process and production facilities should also make it possible to manufacture shoes locally in the future. Anyone who would like to see how such a shoe is sprayed can do so from 27 July to 10 August in On's pop-up lab at 27 Blvd Jules Ferry in Paris.

So far, the high-tech shoe is only available for some top athletes. This autumn/winter, it will also be available for non-world-class runners for CHF 380.

If you don't want to wait that long and are already interested in On running shoes, you'll find a wide selection in our range.