My third year Individual Project, sponsored by ASICS, aimed to evaluate the impact of midsole foam on plantar pressure readings. This was achieved by placing Force Sensitive Resistors along the inside and outside of a shoe in pairs at three key locations of the foot (lateral heel, foot arch and medial forefoot). An INSTRON device was used for testing, applying known loads at each sensor placement to measure the difference between the top sensor (with force directly applied to the sensor) and the bottom sensor (“cushioned” by the midsole foam).
The housing of the sensors in the shoe, and processing through a Seeed board, provides a platform for live run testing with the addition of adequate data processing.