We got self-driving cars, delivery robots, and AI that can predict diseases. But, let’s face it, us sneakerheads care about one thing, and one thing only: the legitimacy of our sneakers. We don’t want to be wearing any fakes. And we sure as hell don’t want to spend a ton of money on a copy. But checking the authenticity of our trusty shoes is very daunting and time-consuming. So, what if I told you that artificial intelligence can do it for you? I present to you the AI sneaker authentication.
What’s AI Sneaker Authentication?
An AI sneaker authentication is an application or website that checks if your pair of shoes is legit or not using artificial intelligence.
Let’s dissect it into two parts “AI” and “Sneaker Authentication”. AI, as in artificial intelligence, is the now-booming technology that feeds enough data to a machine for it to simulate human-like behavior. It’s, in an overly simplified way, a machine with human abilities.
Sneaker authentication is the process of checking the box, labels, stitching, logos, soles, laces, and everything else on a sneaker to make sure it’s original. So, “AI Sneaker Authentication” is, in Hannah Montana’s famous words, the best of both worlds.
How Does an AI Sneaker Authentication Work?
An AI sneaker authentication app seems like a dream come true. But, how does it work? There are two aspects to this question:
- Technically, how can a machine possibly do that?
- Simply, how can you use it?
How Can An Application Verify The Legitimacy Of Sneakers?
You “train” it. Actually, you don’t do any of this work. This is the developers’ and data scientists’ job. There is a subsection in AI called deep learning which is a type of machine learning inspired by the human brain.
It consists of building a “neural network”, similar to the human nervous system, that developers can train to do whatever their heart desires. Kind of. In this case, they train them to tell a legit sneaker pair from a counterfeit one. This is done through “image recognition tasks”.
Don’t mind the technical terms. Essentially, what they do is:
- Collect data of different sneaker models, versions, and sizes. This data consists of details that reflect the shoes being legit from the tiniest to the biggest details.
- Feed the data to the machine.
- Run multiple tests recording errors and fixing the data in order to minimize these errors.
- Launch the app once the error threshold is as low as possible.
The machine then processes this data, and registers it so once it’s presented with any new data it compares it to its database. And yes, these machines can’t achieve 100% accuracy but they can be close to it.
How Do You Use An AI Sneaker Authentication App?
Okay so you understand what happens behind the scene of an AI sneaker authentication app, now let’s see how to use one.
On your end, all you have to do is provide the application with pictures of your shoes. The app will then pick up the details, compare it with what it has, and let you know if your kicks are authentic or not.
Some applications also have human checkers to check after the AI to make sure to cover the error range.
Why Would You Use One?
The counterfeit sneaker market is insane bringing in millions of dollars in revenue. StockX even listed the top 5 most counterfeited sneakers. The point is that it’s a full-blown-out business and counterfeiters are getting more skilled in making exact 1:1 replicas of authentic pairs.
Alright, there are humans who verify the legitimacy of shoes. Why rely on AI? Simply because the entire process can be subjective and small details can slip away. There’s an abundance of things that authenticators have to look for like the size tags, the stitching, the colors, the laces, etc. There is so much room for error.
However, AI sneaker authenticators don’t have the subjectivity and their accuracy threshold is very close to reaching 100%. Plus, they’re much faster. You can have your answer within 15 minutes.
Checkcheck: The Leading AI Sneakers Authentication App
Alright, you’re sold. You want to download one of these apps right this second. Well, hold your horses. Before you get overly excited, let’s make one thing clear, you must do your research. I can give the name, sure, but you take care of the rest.
Checkcheck is the AI sneaker authentication app now dominating the space. It’s easy to use and the founders seem to have been part of the sneaker industry for ages. It gives results in 15 minutes and has human authenticators look over the results.
But, if you want to save yourself the hassle, you can buy the pair of your choice straight from the brand’s website. Of course, it’s not as easy as it sounds especially during hyped releases. So, here are the best sneaker bots to make your copping experience much easier.