Athletic Footwear Research by Industry and Academia

Athletic footwear research and testing is carried out at industrial and academic institutions with mutual interaction steadily increasing. This chapter illustrates the circumstances and interaction opportunities of the two settings from an industrial perspective. It describes how fruitful interaction can be organized by discussing respective structural characteristics. The continuous demand of functional and commercial footwear innovation serves as background for the introduction of the standard product creation process. Additionally, the important preceding role of academic baseline research to establish solid proof of innovative and functional footwear concepts is described. The key company departments involved in the product creation process, planning, design, and development are introduced by illustrating their respective roles during product creation. Thereby, valuable benefits due to routine and specific interaction with science and research are pointed out. The toolbox of research procedures available for comprehensive footwear evaluation and development is addressed. In order to systematically improve the functional criteria of authentic and advanced performance footwear, this toolbox combines mechanical, biomechanical, athletic performance, and perception procedures, which nowadays are strongly supported by computer simulation approaches. The needs of specific consumer target groups with respect to gender, age, or skill level are referred to, as well as the specific individual service for elite athletes. Future requirements to improve footwear science, research, and testing in industry and academia are proposed. A learning control section and references are provided at the end of the chapter.