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Many running injuries are caused by continued use of improper or worn running shoes. The increase in incidence of injury can be directly correlated to the degradation of the materials used in shoe sole construction. The degree to which a shoe sole degrades is directly related to the changing elasticity of the material. We have proposed the use of Flexi-Force piezoelectric force sensors combined with an integrated circuit to indirectly measure shoe sole elasticity. Once calibrated, each circuit will have a diode that lights when the sole is worn past its useful life. Below is a picture of the shoe sole elasticity design team.
We finished preliminary testing of our design. Below is a picture showing the setup we used during the preliminary testing of our design. The results indicate that the two conductive polymer force sensors are able to measure the elasticity of a shoe sole and therefore measure its wear. Early
in the spring 2005 semester we plan to run tests to determine whether our device can provide significant results throughout a running shoe’s normal wear of 400 miles. Following this, we plan to look into implementing multiple sensors into the shoe sole to take into account for a variety of running styles. In addition, we plan to investigate ways to integrate a digital logic chip into the shoe sole, which will make our design much more versatile. (Note - A few progress reports were not written during the middle and towards the end of the semester. That is why a few are missing from the website.)
| Week | Reporting Period Beginning | Activities |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 3 | Team met for the first time this semester and reviewed the project status. Team positions were assigned. Our advisor and client were both contacted via email. |
| 2 | September 10 | A meeting was set up with Professor Webster to discuss potential problems embedding the sensor in a polymer mold. We also began reconstructing our circuit on a new bread board. |
| 3 | September 17 | Tekscan was contacted and the circuit was completely rebuilt. We began testing the sensor for force versus resistance relationship. Research was also put into improving our current design |
| 4 | September 24 | Research was put into integrating a PICT chip into our design. Furthermore, we also researched sensors from Tekscan that can withstand high temperature environments. Lastly, the team researched force sensors with multiple sensing regions. |
| 5 | October 1 | We tried to construct calibration curves for the replacement sensor that we just received from Tekscan. However, they mailed us the wrong sensor so the calibration curves were not created. The team contacted Tekscan so we could receive the correct sensor. |
| 6 | October 8 | The mid-semester presentation was completed. We prepared to order a new set of sensors from Tekscan along with a polymer to mold them into. |
| 7 | October 15 | Our team discussed ways to improve upon our next presentation. Also, we laid out plans for where we would like to go with this project for the rest of the semester. |
| 8 | October 22 | Procedure was written up and diagrams were made displaying test setup and procedure. |
| 9 | October 29 | Tekscan was contacted and the sensors are on order. The rest of the shoe soles were prepared for testing. Group members learned to use the testing machines in the materials testing lab in Engineering Hall. |
| 10 | November 5 | Progress came to a halt as we found ourselves waiting for the sensors. Research was done on possible locations for multiple sensors to account for different running styles. |
| 11 | November 12 | Sensors were received and group met with Jon Dreger to schedule times for testing officially. Testing will be Friday and Monday of next week. |
| 12 | November 19 | Experimental testing was done on Monday and Tuesday. Monday was purely focused on working out some bugs. Tuesday’s testing focused on circuit output vs. force applied to each individual shoe. Data from the testing machine computer were plotted as force vs. time and will eventually be compared to circuit output that is stored on the oscilloscope. |
| 13 | November 26 | To prepare for elasticity testing, 2” by 2” by 5/8” blocks were cut out from each shoe sole. Monday elasticity testing was completed on each shoe sole. |
| 14 | December 3 | Met with advisor and client to get feedback before final presentation. Finished up the odds and ends of testing. Prepared for the final presentation. |
| 15 | December 10 | Finished final paper, client evaluations, and team evaluations. Discussed what we would like to accomplish in our final design semester. |
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Spring 2004 Final Presentation (Oct 7 2004, 516 kb) |
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Spring 2004 Midsemester Presentation (Oct 7 2004, 350 kb) |
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Spring 2004 Final Report (Oct 7 2004, 504 kb) |
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Spring 2004 Midsemester Report (Oct 7 2004, 203 kb) |
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FALL 2004 Midsemester Presentation (Oct 8 2004, 364 kb) |
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Fall 2004 Final Presentation (Dec 7 2004, 3183 kb) |
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Fall 2004 Final Report (Dec 9 2004, 773 kb) |
