Never lace your shoes again! Introducing the LEGO Technic Self-Lacing Shoe

Yes, the future is now! No more tying your own shoes: Flickr user vmln8r has designed the “Self-lacing shoe.” Better late than never, Marty!

The design looks simple and requires relatively few parts. The single axle accomplishes the real work of winding the shoe laces taut. The genius of this contraption, I think, shines in how the powered components—Power Functions L-Motor, IR Receiver, and AAA Battery Box—wrap snugly around the sides of the shoe. The transfer of power bears attention, as the machine uses a series of gears, including a worm gear, to direct the twisting motion from the vertically-oriented L-Motor to the horizontal axle.

Self-lacing shoe

In case you’re wondering: yes, the contraption works! You can watch the self-lacing shoe in action in this YouTube clip:

2 comments on “Never lace your shoes again! Introducing the LEGO Technic Self-Lacing Shoe”

  1. Håkan

    But, it wouldn’t be necessary to walk around with the whole contraction on your laced shoes?

    (Why am I beginning to think of Rube Goldberg?)

  2. Grayson

    More like “it works once”. Good way to stall your motors, strip some gears, and grind some bushings to dust.

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