Last year sportswear company Under Armour teamed up with IBM.  The two companies worked on a new version of the UA Record app that will assess and combine a number of factors that influence your performance, including nutrition, coaching, various environmental factors and so on.

The company has continued this march into AI supported products with the release of a new running shoe that’s designed to inform the wearer of their form and fitness levels.

The shoe, called the UA SpeedForm Gemini 3 RE, is the next generation of an existing range of shoe, and comes with sensor technology to measure the runners pace, cadence and distance.  What’s more, UA also claim that the shoe is capable of measuring your fatigue levels.

Smart shoes

The shoes segue with MapMyRun and measures the air time of each stride, and uses this as a proxy for your fatigue levels.  The idea is that as you fatigue, your stride pattern changes.

The idea is to help guide the runner as to the desired intensity of workouts and provide an idea of their recovery levels over a period of time.

“We are taking a scientific approach to recovery… We know one of the biggest problems runners face is pushing through pain and fatigue, leading to injury. The Jump Test in MapMyRun is a critical first step for runners and will help avoid the ‘training hangover’ many athletes face,” the company says.

The $160 shoe is already available for pre-order, and they join a growing range of products that take fitness tracking out of traditional hardwear based packages.

I’ve written previously about apps such as MoovNow, which offers smart coaching via its wristband technology, and the Loughborough University based Lumo Run clothing range that does a similar job via athletic clothing.

It’s certainly an area with some rapid, and fascinating developments.