RF-EOI-24-005
Development and Production of Instrumented Fully Custom-Fitted 3D Printed Shoes using Environmentally Sustainable Materials
Layperson summary
Footwear plays a crucial role in daily life, impacting comfort, health, and overall well-being. The mass production of shoes and the standardisation of sizes often falls short in catering to the unique and diverse needs of individuals. This is most pronounced for those with physical disabilities that affect their ability to walk. For example, there is no existing shoe that meets the demands of young people with cerebral palsy. Walking patterns are highly variable in these populations, with the feet often prone and dragging. Typically commercially available mass-produced shoes are improvised with ineffective adaptations such as taping.
Our business aims to develop an innovative approach to custom-fitted shoe manufacturing by combining smartphone-based 3D scanning, advanced 3D printing techniques, and smart instrumentation to guide and inform future product developments and to facilitate biomechanical analysis at the individual and population level.
Aim of your proposed research
The overall project aim can be broken down into six key work packages:
1. Develop a Smartphone-Based 3D Scanning System to capture accurate foot measurements.
2. Develop a Custom Fitting Algorithm to interpret foot dimensions and generate custom shoe designs
3. Produce Prototype Custom-Fitted Shoes
4. Integrate sensors for real-time personalised biomechanical assessment, including: pressure sensors, accelerometers and gyroscopes
5. Objectively measure and validate the performance of the footwear and integrated sensors in user trials against an optical motion capture system, force plates and mobile pressure mats of the Biomechanics lab.
6. Produce custom footwear at scale
Your research methodology
To achieve the project aims, we will develop a smartphone-based 3D scanning system to capture precise foot measurements. A custom fitting algorithm will then interpret these dimensions to generate bespoke shoe designs. Prototypes of custom-fitted shoes will be produced, followed by integrating sensors for real-time biomechanical assessment, including pressure sensors, accelerometers, and gyroscopes. Finally, the performance of the footwear and integrated sensors will be objectively validated through user trials, comparing results with an optical motion capture system, force plates, and mobile pressure mats in the Biomechanics lab.
Impact of your proposed research
This proposal addresses two priority research areas:
“Future Health and Care” through the development of custom-fitted footwear to reduce musculoskeletal issues
“Data, Digital and AI” through the generation of real-world biomechanical data for research analysis, and the democratisation of data at the individual level for informed decision making.
The use of smart instrumentation in footwear would enable individuals to monitor their own biomechanics and performance, thus helping with injury detection and prevention and rehabilitation protocols. At a population level, this would enable wide-scale biomechanical studies of large populations, both healthy and pathological, outside of a gait lab environment.
Are you a start-up?
Yes
Research activity area follow definitions provided in UKCRC Health Research Analysis 2022
Aetiology, Prevention, Detection and Diagnosis, Treatment Development, Treatment Evaluation
Amount requested (£)
£100,000
Duration (months)
24 months
Start date
01-09-2024
Is there an external research partner?
No
Is there an Intellectual Property (IP) linked to this research?
No
Will you be testing on animals?
No
Have you previously received funding from ORUK?
No