AUSTIN, Texas — October 25, 2023 — We're excited to announce today that Moonwalkers have been selected by TIME as one of the 200 Best Inventions of 2023.
Moonwalkers are known as “the world’s fastest shoes” because they allow users to walk up to three-times faster than normal. Users simply strap both AI-informed Moonwalkers onto their closed-toe shoes, push the power button on the back of each Moonwalker, and then “shift on” the Moonwalkers with a simple rotation of the right foot to start walking faster than they ever have before.
Moonwalkers first hit public consciousness when we announced a Kickstarter campaign in October 2022, a campaign that met its funding goal in under 48 hours and raised almost $330,000 in total from over 550 backers.
“We knew we were onto something when we unveiled our Kickstarter campaign last fall and saw the great response we got from prospective owners, the media, and influencers,” said Xunjie Zhang, CEO and founder of Shift Robotics, and lead inventor of the Moonwalkers. “But never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that someday I would invent a product that would be named by TIME as one of the best inventions of the year.
“So after five years of extensive work and numerous iterations of this world-changing platform, we at Shift Robotics extend our thanks to the selection committee at TIME for honoring Moonwalkers as one of the best products of the year. Additionally, we also pledge to our fans, customers, and community members that we will continue to push the envelope even further as we work on developing better solutions for robotic shoes and the nano-mobility marketplace.”
According to Dave Mawhinney — Shift Robotics Board Member, successful serial entrepreneur, and Founding Executive Director of the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon University — he’s come to expect great things from Shift’s Xunjie Zhang.
“Xunjie came to Carnegie Mellon to earn a master’s degree in Robotics after spending nearly four years at Rolls Royce working on engine control systems for both the Airbus A350 and Boeing Dreamliner,” Mawhinney said. “Now that I’ve worked closely with him for over five years, it’s clear that he’s a robotics rockstar. That’s why I’ve come to expect great things from Xunjie and his team at Shift Robotics, including receiving this great honor from TIME.”
About TIME’s List of its “Best Inventions of 2023”
TIME’s annual list of the Best Inventions features 200 extraordinary innovations changing our lives.
To compile the list, TIME solicited nominations through an online application process and from its editors and correspondents around the world, while paying special attention to such growing fields as AI, green energy, and sustainability. Each contender was then evaluated on a number of key factors, including originality, efficacy, ambition, and impact.
Of the new list, TIME’s editors wrote: “The result is a list of 200 groundbreaking inventions (and 50 special mention inventions) — including the world's most powerful supercomputer, a game-changing entertainment venue, and a new shape — each of which are changing how we live, work, play, and think about what’s possible."
