adidas Unveils Its First Fully 3D-Printed Soccer Cleats

3D printing in the world of athletic footwear is nothing new. Nike, PUMA, and ASICS, among others, have been experimenting with 3D-printed shoes and soles for years. But there is one area where none had fully taken the leap: soccer cleats. Until now.

adidas has just unveiled fully 3D-printed soccer cleats, marking the second product to come out of its R.A.P. (Radical Athlete Perception) project, an additive manufacturing platform for sports introduced in March this year. The first was a basketball shoe already worn in an official game by college star Darryn Peterson.

R.A.P. aims to create footwear tailored to every athlete’s foot and movement.

The boots were designed by adidas’ innovation team using performance data and testing with two players: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Ademola Lookman. Both were involved throughout the development process and will be the first to receive custom-made pairs. That is exactly the advantage adidas is looking to leverage. By using additive manufacturing, each pair can be tailored to a player’s foot and style of play, delivering a level of fit and support that mass production simply cannot match.