Nike Reveals Wemby AI Designed AIR Sneakers

American athletic footwear and apparel corporation Nike recently announced an AIR (Athlete Imagined Revolution) concept of sneakers created by Artificial Intelligence for emerging NBA player Victor Wembanyama.

The announcement was made last week in Paris, France, at a Nike Air event for the upcoming Olympics. Let’s learn about the new Wemby AI designed AIR sneakers and their potential release date.

Who Is Wembanyama?

Wembanyama, nicknamed Wemby, is a French professional basketball player. The emerging player has had an amazing rookie season with an average of 21.3 points, 3.8 assists, 10.6 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks per game.

This performance demonstrates that Wemby is going to be a star. Thus, the new shoes seem like an appropriate debut sneaker for a possible league leader.

And, standing 7’4” and wearing size 20.5 shoes, Wemby will most likely require something unique from Nike.

Wemby AI Designed AIR Sneakers – How Do They Look?

The futuristic-looking sneakers look like they were transported from another galaxy or dimension. AI’s ability to generate new organic-looking shapes is virtually always visually pleasing.

Nike designers worked with Wembanyama as a team to create the AIR prototypes. The team designed the shoes based on what the basketball player believed would be perfect.

Wemby AI Designed AIR Sneakers. Image Credit: Twitter (X).

Using these insights and individual athlete data, the designers used AI to create the sneaker and 3D print the silhouettes shown in Paris this week.

According to Nike, Wemby designed his shoe with low-profile, responsive Air cushioning that extends from the forefoot across the lateral side to provide stability.

The Air unit’s pixelated, fractal design is inspired by his love of science fiction and jewelry, namely the bismuth stone from his draft night. The shoe’s upper features an abstract computational print.

On another note, you might be interested in reading about Meta MTIA V2 Chips For AI Workloads.

When Will It Debut?

At present, it is unclear whether the new sneakers will ever be released or worn on the floor.

Nike has been using artificial intelligence for footwear design recently, but this is the first time it has done so for a basketball shoe concept. These prototypes have a distinct design, but it is unclear whether they’ll ever see action on the court.

Let’s see what the future holds for Wemby AI designed AIR sneakers.