This SBIR Phase I project will study the development of a digitally configurable shape around which a shoe can be created. The results of this project will enable the mass-customization of shoes so they can precisely fit the feet of the individuals who wear them. Properly fitting shoes are intended to improve the quality of life of customers through reduced pain and improved musculoskeletal health. This development in shoe-making technology is of broad interest to the population of the United States, but particularly important to women, who often suffer from physical deformities and injuries caused by ill-fitting shoes. The proposed innovation relies on mass-customization methods and flexible robotics technology. Its anticipated success will provide additional jobs in the shoe industry and related fields, and improve productivity nationwide through reduced healthcare costs.The strong technical innovation in this project will be the adaptation of granular jamming technology for use in programmable shape technology. The driving goal of the proposed project is to develop a last for use in the mass-customization of shoes that is capable of changing shape in response to a digital representation of the customer's foot shape. After changing shape, it will lock into a rigid but smooth form appropriate for use in traditional shoe manufacturing methods. The scope of the research will cover the development of the last in a manner appropriate for use in manufacturing conditions (in terms of both physical and temperature durability) and the creation and implementation of algorithms for transforming foot shape data into an appropriately fitting shoe shape and for transforming a standard shoe pattern onto an arbitrary foot shape. Iterative design practices and just-in-time manufacturing techniques will facilitate the development of this new technology and manufacturing methodology.
