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The Future of Footwear Friction

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Proceedings of the 21st Congress of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA 2021) (IEA 2021)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems ((LNNS,volume 223))

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Abstract

New technologies that enhance our understanding of shoe-floor mechanics have opened opportunities to address slip and fall accidents. Footwear has been identified as one critical factor capable of reducing an individual’s risk. Thus, this moment is ripe for reducing the burden of slips, trips, and fall events. New technology can be broadly categorized into: 1) new modeling methods for predicting footwear friction performance; 2) new experimental methods for characterizing friction mechanics; and 3) new human-centred methods for characterizing interactions between the footwear and the user. These emerging technologies have the potential to elevate friction and traction performance of footwear and enhance the information available to ergonomics professionals to match appropriate footwear to applications. However, the deployment of these technologies is only beginning to guide footwear design and consumer behaviors. Thus, the footwear manufacturers’ perspective in implementing new technology will also be presented. In this workshop, we will A) present information regarding emerging technologies in addition to their benefits and limitations; and B) survey the audience, disaggregated by industry sector, to obtain new data on the potential for these technologies to be accepted and implemented by professionals.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA

    Kurt E. Beschorner

  2. KITE, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada

    Yue (Sophia) Li

  3. Graduate School of Engineering and Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai Miyagi, 980-8577, Japan

    Takeshi Yamaguchi

  4. Vibram Corporation, North Brookfield, MA, 01535, USA

    William Ells

  5. Intertile Research Pty Ltd., Brighton East, Victoria, 3187, Australia

    Richard Bowman

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  1. Kurt E. Beschorner
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  2. Yue (Sophia) Li
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  3. Takeshi Yamaguchi
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  4. William Ells
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  5. Richard Bowman
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Correspondence to Kurt E. Beschorner .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Département de génie mécanique, Université de Moncton, Moncton, NB, Canada

    Nancy L. Black

  2. Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada

    W. Patrick Neumann

  3. Toronto, ON, Canada

    Ian Noy

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Beschorner, K.E., Li, Y.(., Yamaguchi, T., Ells, W., Bowman, R. (2022). The Future of Footwear Friction. In: Black, N.L., Neumann, W.P., Noy, I. (eds) Proceedings of the 21st Congress of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA 2021). IEA 2021. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 223. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74614-8_103

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74614-8_103

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