If anybody knows about shoes, it’s a basketball player. After all, their shoes are generally key tools for their job. So, a startup backed by Carmelo Anthony wants to do away with the idea of shoe sizes and start building custom shoes.
SOLS, the startup in question, is already edging towards its goal: It makes custom orthotics by scanning your foot and 3D printing the in-sole. Now, they want to step it up. In theory, all they would need to 3D print your dream shoe is a photo of your foot from three different angles. Their software would then construct a model of your foot, design the shoe around it, and start the process of building a custom shoe.
There’s a bit more to it than just printing it out, as there will need to be parts that are injection-molded or built using rapid casting. But once the base shoe is done, it can be sent off to other companies to add leather elements, LEDs, or what have you.
It’s an interesting idea, certainly, although it’ll probably come with a higher price tag. But for some, it’s a small price to pay for shoes that’ll actually fit.
