Back To The Future: Self-Tying Shoes Are Here

Back To The Future-inspired self-lacing trainers will soon be available to the general public.

Michael J Fox was given a prototype pair last year, but at the time the only way to get your hands on them was at auction.

Now Nike has announced that its HyperAdapt 1.0 shoes will be available before Christmas.

A sensor in the heel will detect when the shoes are put on, automatically tightening up the laces.

Buttons on the side will then allow the wearer to make more adjustments to the fitting - making the shoe looser or tighter.

This could be useful to athletes, Nike (Sao Paolo: NIKE34F.SA - news) says, allowing them to make quick "micro-adjustments" to help improve their performance.

Nike shoe designer Tinker Hatfield said the next step would be to release a shoe that adjusts itself completely automatically.

He said: "Wouldn't it be great if a shoe, in the future, could sense when you needed to have it tighter or looser?

"Could it take you even tighter than you'd normally go if it senses you really need extra snugness in a quick manoeuvre?

"That's where we’re headed. In the future, product will come alive."

Nike has not revealed how much the trainers will cost yet.

Self-tying laces were predicted in the 1989 film Back To The Future II.

In it, Marty McFly - played by Fox - travels to 21 October 2015 and puts on a pair of Nike High Tops that automatically tightened using so-called power laces (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) .