Since 2022, I have been working as a research assistant at the Bowerman Sports Science Center to help collect much-needed data on female soccer athletes. Our biomechanics data is being used to inform soccer cleat design with an industry partner with whom the lab has signed an NDA. As a result of the NDA, my honors college thesis research has veered away from the development of an entire soccer cleat to designing an insole that will be protective to the ACL without sacrificing performance for the female athlete.
Workflow: IRB-Approved Human Subjects Research, Vicon Motion Capture, pedar® Plantar Pressure Distribution Insoles, Data Analysis, Female-Centric Design
Guiding Question: How might we apply biomechanics and plantar pressure data to a female-centric insole design for soccer cleats?
Presentation from the 2024 Undergraduate Research Symposium in the Department of Human Physiology.
My thesis prospectus presentation in March 2024 focused on explaining the biomechanics research protocol to an audience from many different disciplines. I set the stage to apply the plantar pressure data to a product. At the time, I was set to work on an outsole design, but I decided that I only had enough data to make an insole that might suit female athlete needs.
More progress coming soon! Questions? Let's chat!
