Adidas has unveiled the world's first high performance footwear featuring midsoles crafted with light and oxygen using Digital Light Synthesis. The footwear is named Futurecraft 4D. The midsole was brought to functional reality through a pioneering digital footwear component creation process that eliminated the necessity for traditional prototyping or moulding.

Digital Light Synthesis is a breakthrough process that uses digital light projection, oxygen-permeable optics and programmable liquid resins to generate high-performance, durable polymeric products. Futurecraft 4D is Adidas' first application of Digital Light Synthesis and represents the brand's step into athlete-data driven design and manufacturing.

Unlike any traditional manufacturing technology, Digital Light Synthesis allows Adidas to precisely address the needs of each athlete with regard to movement, cushioning, stability and comfort with one single component.

This new take on manufacturing enables Adidas to bring even the most intricate designs into physical reality. It overcomes the shortcomings of conventional additive manufacturing methods such as low production speed and scale, poor surface quality, and color and material restrictions. Without these limitations posed by traditional production methods, Adidas can now bring the best and most innovative products to consumers faster than ever.

Adidas, based in Germany, is a global leader in the sporting goods industry with core brands Adidas and Reebok.