Swiss Brand 'On' Just Built a $280 Running Shoe Using Robots in 3 Minutes - Yanko Design

"The Swiss brand's new LightSpray Cloudmonster 3 Hyper doesn't have a traditional upper. Instead, a robotic arm sprays a single continuous filament onto a foot-shaped mold, and in about three minutes, the entire upper is formed. No seams. No laces. No glue. The result bonds directly to the midsole through thermal fusing, and the whole shoe is made from just eight components."

"On first debuted LightSpray in 2024, when marathon runner Hellen Obiri wore a prototype to win the Boston Marathon. Back then it was a single robotic unit in Zurich, a proof of concept more than a production method. Now the brand has opened a second factory near Busan, South Korea, housing 32 robots and boosting production capacity 30 times over."

"What makes the Cloudmonster 3 Hyper interesting as a design object is the tension between its upper and its sole. On top, you get this gossamer, almost skeletal spray-on structure that looks like it was grown rather than assembled. Below, there's a massive stack of Helion HF hyper foam sitting on CloudTec cushioning geometry. Minimal above, maximal below."

On has revolutionized shoe manufacturing with LightSpray technology, which uses a robotic arm to spray continuous filament onto a foot-shaped mold, creating a complete upper in three minutes. This eliminates traditional construction methods involving cutting, stitching, layering, and gluing. The resulting shoe contains only eight components compared to 30-50 in conventional performance runners. After debuting the technology in 2024 with marathon runner Hellen Obiri at Boston Marathon, On expanded from a single prototype unit in Zurich to a second factory near Busan, South Korea, with 32 robots increasing production capacity 30 times over. The Cloudmonster 3 Hyper features a minimalist spray-on upper contrasted with maximal cushioning below, creating distinctive visual and functional design.

Read at Yanko Design - Modern Industrial Design News