Subhechcha Ganguly 
With a top speed of 11 Kmph and a range of 10 Km, the Moonwalker, described as a revolutionary mobility product, promises to improve the wearer’s walking speed by up to 250%. Shift Robotics, a company based in Pennsylvania, has introduced “Moonwalkers,” a ground-breaking mobility device that claims to boost the wearer’s walking speed by up to 250%. This is great news for people who struggle to walk slowly or over long distances. Users won’t be able to moonwalk like Michael Jackson used to, but they will be able to walk far quicker than they would normally. The shoe, which is marketed as the fastest in the world, has a 10 km range and a top speed of 11 km/h.
The invention, according to Shift Robotics CEO Xunjie Jhang, aims to transform how humans move. “It all started on the day Xunjie was scootering to work and almost got hit by a car half a mile away. When Xunjie realised that walking to work is considerably safer and more convenient, he started to wonder why he had never done so. The product’s USP is how simple it is to use—one simply needs to walk quicker to accelerate or slower to decelerate without needing to balance. The eight rollerblade wheels on the shoe are powered by a 300 Watt motor and were created specifically with staircases in mind.
To switch between lock and shift modes, just move your foot. You simply need to fasten the shoes to enhance your walking speed; unlike traditional roller skates, there is no learning curve. The power of the motors is automatically adjusted by algorithms based on sensors that track the user’s walking pattern. The moonwalker enhances this speed by up to 250% from the average human speed of 2.5 to 4 mph. Although a pre-ordered pair can be purchased with a $999 “Early Bird” donation to a Kickstarter crowdfunding effort intended to raise $90,000 for the company, this technology-driven mobility is not very affordable. These sneakers are anticipated to sell for $1,399 at retail (nearly Rs 1.15 lakh)
The potential use case could be a short-distance journey, such as running an errand to your local store or, if parking is difficult to find, from your destination to the closest available spot. They are significantly easier to store than a bike or scooter because they are lot smaller.
By Bidisha Mohanty
