Final Project

Since our group consists out of three people Laura Newton, Natalia Thormeye & myself we decided to make the video appropriately longer.

Video Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQjS5XMQquk

We decided to work on a sensor embedded sole for people with overpronation.

Idea
Pronation refers to the natural side-to-side movement of the foot as you walk or run.
Overpronation: Over inward rolling of the foot

The sensor will be embedded into the sole and will detect the amount of pressure that the foot is experiencing. Once the threshold has been reached the sensor will give a feedback in the form of a vibration. The aim is to remind the wearer to correct his/her gate and improve his/her walking style on the long-term bases.

Why?
Severe cases of overpronation can lead to topography of the foot
-Shin splints
-Achilles tendonitis
-Plantar fasciitis

Process
In short, the process can be condensed into three main parts

a)Obtaining wearer’s data
Sole should be completely adapted to the wearer’s needs and conditions. Starting with a 3D scan of the wearer’s foot to determine the exact topography. Besides that the pressure threshold of the wearer has to be determined.

b)Sole and sensor development
Flexibel bottom:
An essential part of treating overpronation is providing enough support to the affected foot. Therefore this will also be incorporated into the sole. The bottom of the sole will have to be rigid as well as flexible in order to support and move with the foot.

Soft upper:
Although support is an integral part of the sole, comfort is another deciding factor to the total effectiveness. Factors that have to be considered for the final material are stability, flexibility and skin tolerance. The upper will comprise of a thin EcoFlex layer which is molded onto the sole.

Sensor development
The sole is based on a simple input and output system. The input is the incorrect, overpronated gait, and the output is the vibration. The input can be defined as the excessive inward rolling of the foot, therefore there will be an increase of pressure on the base of the big toe. Once the predetermined threshold of pressure has been detected by the pressure sensor the wearer will be alerted through the vibration feedback

c)Assembly and testing
The assembly comprises of the two bodies of the sole, the soft upper and flexible lower, being joint into the final sole. In this step, it is important to make sure the final result is a homogeneous object.

Materials
-Work load sensor or DIY pressure sensor
-EcoFlex
-Flexible 3D print
-Attiny
-Arduino
-Vibration buzzer