By Nicholas P. Brown
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Nike on Thursday said it is working on a motorized footwear system to help casual athletes and mobility-impaired people move faster, one of four new products it teased in its latest effort to show the world it is still on the cutting-edge of sports technology.     
Known as Project Amplify, the effort is a collaboration with bionic footwear brand Dephy, Nike announced Thursday morning. It remains in early stages, with the product – a running shoe that comes with an attachable, battery-charged motor – still a few years from coming to market.  Â
CEO Elliott Hill is betting on product innovation as a way of turning around a sportswear juggernaut whose financial performance has stagnated, as newer, nimbler brands like On and Hoka have chipped away at market share. Former CEO John Donahoe – an industry outsider who had worked as a corporate consultant and as CEO of eBay – had shifted Nike’s focus to more concrete metrics, like optimizing sales channels. Â
Hill said last year that righting the ship would require, among other things, “unmatched, patented innovation” for new products. Â
Nike on Thursday also introduced the Mind 001 and Mind 002 shoes, which it claims can “tap into the mind-body connection,” helping athletes’ mental focus by activating “key sensory areas of the brain via underfoot stimulation.” The shoes are expected to hit shelves in January. Â
The company also announced a sports jersey with cooling technology, known as the Aero-FIT, which Nike-sponsored soccer teams will wear in next year’s World Cup.
(Reporting by Nicholas P. Brown; Editing by Stephen Coates)
