12/21/2012

Project Final Report

Study of sport shoe comfort ability

Ergonomics and Work Organization course

Group 11

Table of Contents
1. 2. Introduction _____________________________________________________________________ 6 Literature review _________________________________________________________________ 9 2.1. 2.2. Introduction to the foot ________________________________________________________ 9 Technologies and feature _____________________________________________________ 11 ANTA ________________________________________________________________ 11 361 __________________________________________________________________ 12 LiNing ________________________________________________________________ 14

2.2.1. 2.2.2. 2.2.3. 3.

Research framework _____________________________________________________________ 16 3.1. 3.2. 3.3. Research questions __________________________________________________________ 16 Research hypothesis _________________________________________________________ 16 Milestone__________________________________________________________________ 16

4.

Experiment Methodology _________________________________________________________ 18 4.1. 4.2. 4.3. Experiment Purpose _________________________________________________________ 18 Device Introduction _________________________________________________________ 18 Experiment Procedure ________________________________________________________ 19 Selection of participants and shoes __________________________________________ 19 Pre-experiment _________________________________________________________ 20 Experiment design_______________________________________________________ 20

4.3.1. 4.3.2. 4.3.3. 4.4. 4.5. 5.

Data analysis _______________________________________________________________ 20 Gantt chart_________________________________________________________________ 21

Result and analyses ______________________________________________________________ 22 5.1. 5.2. Method adopted for evaluating data _____________________________________________ 22 Data from the experiment _____________________________________________________ 22 Real time pictures from the device __________________________________________ 25 Analyses of the data _____________________________________________________ 29 Analysis of normalized data _______________________________________________ 30 Individual comparison____________________________________________________ 31 Comparison in each group for particular Brand ________________________________ 32 Comparison of peak heel and toe pressure in each group _________________________ 33 Comparison Average pressure of the heel on the foot. ___________________________ 34

5.2.1. 5.2.2. 5.2.3. 5.2.4. 5.2.5. 5.2.6. 5.2.7. 5.3.

Data from Questionnaire ______________________________________________________ 35 Summary of the data collected from all the participants __________________________ 36

5.3.1.

5.3.2. 5.3.3. 6.

Score obtained during each task separate for Chinese Germans ____________________ 38 Numbers of the participants who like LiNing as well as 361 ______________________ 39

Conclusion ____________________________________________________________________ 40 6.1. Conclusion for the research question ____________________________________________ 40

7.

Appendix ______________________________________________________________________ 43 7.1. 7.2. Questionnaire Charts used ____________________________________________________ 43 References __________________________________________ Error! Bookmark not defined.

List of figures & Tables

Figure 1 type of foot planter patterns ______________________________________________________________ 7 Figure 2 Different strokes of toot while walking ______________________________________________________ 9 Figure 3 Pressure on foot ________________________________________________________________________ 9 Figure 4 Peak pressure _________________________________________________________________________ 10 Figure 5 Foot measuring device __________________________________________________________________ 11 Figure 6 ANTA Technology ______________________________________________________________________ 11 Figure 7 Auto arch technology ___________________________________________________________________ 11 Figure 8 361 Technology ________________________________________________________________________ 12 Figure 9 Pedar Device look ______________________________________________________________________ 18 Figure 10 Pedar-X foot measuring Device __________________________________________________________ 18 Figure 11 Shoe Size variation ____________________________________________________________________ 19 Figure 12 Gantt chart __________________________________________________________________________ 21 Figure 13 Peak pressure of German who like LiNing wearing LiNing _____________________________________ 25 Figure 14 Peak pressure of German who like LiNing wearing 361 _______________________________________ 25 Figure 15 Peak pressure of German who like 361 wearing LiNing _______________________________________ 26 Figure 16 Peak pressure of German who like 361 wearing 361 _________________________________________ 26 Figure 17 Peak pressure of Chinese who like LiNing wearing LiNing ____________________________________ 27 Figure 18 Peak pressure of Chinese who like LiNing wearing 361 _______________________________________ 27 Figure 19 Peak pressure of Chinese who like 361 wearing LiNing _______________________________________ 28 Figure 20 Peak pressure of Chinese who like 361 wearing 361 _________________________________________ 28 Figure 21 pressure values for German & Chinese ___________________________________________________ 29 Figure 22 Normalized pressure for German and Chinese ______________________________________________ 30 Figure 23 pressure distribution while walking _______________________________________________________ 31 Figure 24 Average pressure for waling, standing and jumping __________________________________________ 32 Figure 25 Peak pressure of heel and toe ___________________________________________________________ 33 Figure 26 average pressure of the heel ____________________________________________________________ 34 Figure 27 questionnaire ________________________________________________________________________ 35 Figure 28 average scores for walking, standing and jumping ___________________________________________ 38 Figure 29 numbers of participants like 361 as well as Lining ___________________________________________ 39 Table 1 Pressure Values for LiNing ............................................................................................................................23 Table 2 Pressure Values for 361 .................................................................................................................................24

Group members information

Name: Sabir Ali Chinese name: Nationality: Pakistan Student number: 2012280128 Name: Sharon Bi Chinese name: Nationality: Chinese Student number: 2012210425 Name: Jeffery Huang Chinese name: Nationality: Chinese Student number: 2012210415 Name: Sara kamali Chinese name: Nationality: Iran Student number: 2012280152 Name: Stefan Klein Chinese name: Nationality: Mexico Student number: 2012400504 Name: Behshid Maanavi Chinese name: Nationality: Iran Student number: 2012280150

Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge the assistance extended to us by Professor P.L Patrick Rao who gave us this opportunity to work on this project. We would like to express our warmest appreciations to Ms. Na Chen, who shared her experience and knowledge with us. Under her kind guidance we were able to learn a lot. Whose cheerful encouragement helped us through seemingly endless details of the project. We are also thankful to all German and Chinese participant who helped us make this project successful

Regards Group 11

Foot experiment project

1. Introduction
Scientists and engineers for centuries have marveled at the design and structure of the human foot. The human foot is rigid enough to support the weight of your entire body, and yet flexible enough to allow you to run, dance, play sports, and to take you anywhere you want to go. Without your feet and toes, your ability to work at your job would be greatly reduced. In humans, the foot and ankle serve as the primary interface between the ground and the body during ambulation. This requires that the foot and ankle complex is able to absorb impact loading forces, adapt to uneven ground, and allow efficient movement. To accomplish this task, we need to know the pressure applied to the feet and its distribution in different shoes in standing position. Measurement of foot pressure distribution is clinically useful for evaluation of foot and gait pathologies. The effects of foot pressure distribution during walking are not well known and it needs to be more focused on how the shoe can affect it. This research will look at the importance of plantar pressure measurements on prescription of appropriate footwear, the effect of proper footwear in standing position and compare three different Chinese shoe manufacturer brands: Li NING, 361and Anta. Well investigate the Chinese shoes for Chinese and non-Chinese people. In order to do so it is important that we understand several aspects of the foot, such as its anatomy or the relation between foot pressure and the injuries caused by it. In this research proposal we summarize some articles to get a better understanding of these issues. We also provide some features and technologies of the shoes produced by the named brands. Finally we provide our planned approach as well as our research questions and our hypothesis. As all are aware, our feet support body weight and do some of the most important locomotors functions. Whether you stand, walk, jog or run, there is a whole lot of pressure given to the feet. Also, by wearing socks and shoes the entire day, blood circulation to these areas becomes limited. Proper footwear is important, not only for foot comfort but also for ones general wellbeing. Improper footwear can cause or aggravate existing foot problems. Unfortunately, being fashionable sometimes takes precedence over choosing well-fitting, supportive safety footwear. However, many safety footwear manufacturers produce safety footwear that does look fashionable. This project can be beneficial for shoe companies in terms of improving their products quality taking into account the foot pressure distribution and its effects on feet and can further help them to find possible reasons why some of their products were more popular and successful than others in both Chinese and

Non-Chinese markets. Some types of shoes and the kind of shoe recommended by some company are shown in figure.

Figure 1 type of foot planter patterns

Its essential that your shoes fit your feet correctly. Comfortable shoes will allow your feet to work normally, and will not restrict their movement in any way. While inadequate footwear can cause problems for feet such as damaged joints, swelling of the legs, and lead to bunions and corns, steel spurs and even flat feet. Besides the gender, nationality ,age weight and even the height of users have important role in comfort feeling of shoes ,so in this study we are going to investigate some effects of these parameters on two different famous brands of Chinese shoe products for two different groups (Chinese and German) of users Humans are the only creature who walks on their feet, and has to wear shoes. To get a good and comfortable shoe is not an easy task. Currently there are a lot of shoe brands available in the market. One can directly buy the shoe from an athlete shoe store with recommendations from a friend or by asking people in walking group or health club to introduce you a good store and a knowledgeable sales person, but even the case is there are a lots of shoe brands all over the world. Therefore recommendation should be based on some research work, and according to researches a good shoe should have following qualities. They have right size the (shoes exactly your feet size) Matching shoes with your foot type (low arch, flat arch or high arch foot) Your toes can wiggle freely without feeling pressure

There should be a 3/8-inch to half-inch space from the tip of your longest toe to the tip of your shoes Dont expect shoes stretch out Sure your heels dont slipping around in shoe Walk with them about a few minutes Buy shoes at the end of day

There are several factors that influence people's comfort feeling such as: gender, nationality, age, weight, and height. In this study we are investigating these factors using two famous brands as samples. More over two groups of people (Chinese and German) users are investigated. And we will recommend which one is more comfortable for both groups.

2. Literature review
2.1. Introduction to the foot

This section of the report summarizes the literature review which has been done during our project to support our ideas based on the previous work done in this field. We have searched enough papers to get the material required for our own interest. The main focus of our literature was the research papers and experimental work published in this area. Following are the choose papers which were reviewed as supportive document for our study. 1) The effect of surface characteristics on plantar shape of feet and subjects perceived sensation (Witana, Goonetilleke et al. 2009). This paper is about the foot anatomy which relate different pattern of the foot planter surface. The concern of consumer of shoes. Different parts of the shoes are Fasciitis are more frequent in rigid cavus feet .it can be experienced at end of the heel bone or the calcaneus and hence the shape and the deformation of the mid foot can be considered to be quiet important to minimize excessive stress on the fascia. Fit: poorly fitting foot problems (foot fatigues, slip & fall) Comfort

Figure 2 Different strokes of toot while walking

The structure in mid foot and the load bearing surface contributes to foot and surface deformation and perceive comfort, discomfort and pain. Result showed that: 1) The structure in mid foot could change shape independent of the rear foot region 2) The cushioning properties of the mid foot materials has direct effect on perceived feeling even the heel and fore foot are fixed shoes have the right and deformation in mid foot area

Figure 3 Pressure on foot

2) The impact of increasing body mass on peak and mean plantar pressure in asymptomatic adult subjects during walking (Arnold, Ryan Causby et al. 2010)

The aim of this paper investigate the relationship between increasing body mass and peak and mean plantar in an asymptomatic adult during walking under four different loading (0, 5, 10 and 15 kg) by using a weight vest and F-scan in shoe. Significant increase in peak and pressure between 10 to 15 kg loads compared to (0 kg) load within heel and second to fifth metatarsal region. The mid foot did not show any significant peak pressure. The significant increase in mean pressure in 5, 10 and 15 kg compared to 0 kg. Significant increase in peak pressure between 15 kg and 0 kg in in all regions. Increasing body mass affects peak and mean pressure and the effect depends on plantar region.
Figure 4 Peak pressure

3) Comparison of center of pressure (COP) measurements from the Pedar and force plate systems (Debbi, Goryachev et al.) The aim of this paper investigate the relationship between increasing body mass and peak and mean plantar in an asymptomatic adult during walking under four different loading (0, 5, 10 and 15 kg) by using a weight vest and F-scan in shoe. The basic goal of this paper compare right and left foot COP that measured by pedar and force plate systems The COP changes during the stance phase bet of gait between heels to the first two metatarsal head. The location of the COP is a critical measure of gait and reflects balance the severity of lower limb diseases the present study also compared the results for each foot. The amount of adjustment in rotation needed for right foot was significantly greater than the left both for initial alignment and mathematical adjustment. These findings suggest that the difference in angle adjustment needed is a true difference between the feet.

Figure 5 Foot measuring device In the 21st century, the usage of the computer and electrical sensor in the design of shoes become popular. All the companies focus on the measuring of the motion situation and automatic adjustment of the shoes. The shoes will not only fit the feet, but also need to be more comfortable and functional. So many more new technologies are used in the design and production of the shoes.

We are going to research which Chinese brands of shoes people prefer, so we are going to introduce the features and technologies of these brands used in the shoes.

2.2.

Technologies and feature

Following three brands of shoes were reviewed and the basic slandered and technology used in design and manufacturing of these shoes is presented as under

2.2.1. ANTA
Anta uses lots of technology to make the shoes more comfortable. The follows are strongly illustrated:
i) CORE

Sole shock absorption technology enabled by special shock absorption material alone or such material plus absorption structure, reduce vibration and impact force.
Figure 6 ANTA Technology

ii) FORM

Foot arch shock absorber structure, imitating human foot arch, absorbs shock to heel in action and reduce probability of injury.
iii) SPRING

Elastic foot arch structure with good distortion/recovery capability, and excellent shock reduction and rebound for strong impact.
iv) TALOON

Talon-like side holding system provides excellent upper support and protection.
v) Supper FLEXI

Design matches human foot shape, easy and comfortable bending.

vi) AUTO-arch

Mid-foot support and stability technology, containing shoe twist within reasonable range while enhancing

Figure 7 Auto arch technology

stability.

vii) Side-Backer

Side-Backer is a support structure outside the half-sole to reduce sprain risk in action.
viii) Jelly

Environmental-friendly and degradable material offers satisfactory resistance to compressive deformation and hence lasting and stable performance.
ix) Cool

Open vent design for easy sweat and heat discharge, and 360cool feel.
x) Power Revolve Shaft

Half-sole aided turn design to enable agile turn in movement.

2.2.2. 361
361pays much attention on the technology of the shoes. The following features are the new materials and technology used in the shoes.
New material: Oliga

Developed according to the shape and mechanism of human feet ligaments, the II type structure has stronger twisting resistance in comparison with traditional flat structures. The arch shaped longitudinal section, when stressed, has greater rebounding capacity. Just like a stiffener of the arch ligament, it effectively increases the strength at the arch and helps to improve human running & jumping capacity.
New material: Engulf
Figure 8 361 Technology

Engulf is a new damping material. The lowest rebound coefficient of the dual density damping EVA reaches 15%, while the rebound coefficient of ENGULF is up to 3%. As every decrease by 5% percentage brings about one time of increase in capacity than the standard, the shock absorbing capacity of ENGULF exceeds two times of that of EVA.
New material: Release

Release is a new damping material. The rebound coefficient of the dual density rebounding EVA is up to 58%, while the rebound coefficient of RELEASE is up to 83%. For every increase by 5% percentage brings about one time of increase in capacity than the standard, the rebound capacity of RELEASE exceeds five times of that of the damping EVA.
Cocoon

A new vamp wrapping concept and a naturally dynamic design make the shoes perfectly match the feet. That is, by better fitting the feet, the sneakers always keep the feet in motion stable and improve its own overall performance.
Flexi

A function better matched with the motion of the feet. Thanks to its easily bendable and impressively light structure, you can consumes less energy, play more freely while achieve boosted performance.

Foot Massaging System

A foot massaging system is arranged at the front and back supports of the inner disc of the mid sole, sets forms according to the acupuncture point on the foot. By giving differential stimulus to the foot reflex region, it helps to adjust human physiological functions, improve immune system functions, thereby keeping fit and improving health; meanwhile, fatigue following motion is alleviated.
Trampoline

A sole technology developed according to the properties and structural features of a spiders web, combining an arc-shaped highly flexible & plastic support piece, the dual density damping EVA and the flexible jelly rubber, boasts not ongly inviting visual effect, but also more uniform damping and rebounding properties, thus helping to improve balance of the feet.
NFO TECH

The NFO TECH magnetic levitation technology with unique built-in magnetic stabilizer two groups of repelled strong magnet arrays, enables even stressing of the feet during running and damps shock better.
Shieled System

A distinctive TPU support structure added at the fore palm and the heel part forms a shied-like secure stabilizing system, improves overall properties of the sneakers and provides the firmest protection for every tough movement.
Lightsome Tech

The 361lightsome Tech super light insole technology adopts new EVA material at the mid sole to form an internal honeycomb-like structure and minimize weight to only 65% of common EVA material. The wearer will perform dexterous movements, with such lightsome shoes.
3D Cushion System

The 3613D Cushion System, designed according to ergonomic, adopts the highly flexible arch TPU strip inserted at the heel of the mid sole. During motion, the stressed feet press downwards. Strong pressure first acts on the arch TPU strip and gets absorbed by the latter. Besides, the arch TPU strip has excellent resilience. After stressed, it can restore instantly to release pressure.

2.2.3. LiNing
Cushion technology: to provide superior shock cushioning while doing sports LiNing Bow: core technology of LiNing, design inspiration from Zhaozhou Bridge in China Bounce EVA: a kind of EVA material with superior bouncing property, to provide remarkable bouncing energy for the feet and extends the time in the air Cushion EVA: a material which can absorb shock and disperse pressure, and therefore reduce foot injury caused by impact from the ground T-cushion: a material which can absorb shock and disperse pressure, and therefore reduce foot injury caused by impact from the ground Arch-cushion: the bow-like cushion to reduce shock by the distortion of the bow-structure Insole-cushion: an insole made of PU material, which can absorb and store much energy when compressed

Stability technology: ground holding and protection to the wearer double-density EVA: a EVA material with a double-density structure to prevent the inclination of the foot Probarloc: a thermoplastic material inserted in the shoe to connect the sole and the heel and provide support Heel loc: a piece around the heel to guide the heel to leave the ground effectively T Loc: a T-shape shoe tack to hold the ground X-Claw: a structure imitating the cat caw to adjust the ground-holding force according the environment requirements Swirlpod: a cone-shape ring put under the forefoot to help rotate Synchro-Adjust System: a combination of a three-dimensional TPU supporting system and the cushioning and bouncing material to improve the integration of the whole shoe

Reducing weight: to produce comfort and reduce energy loss

Foam EVA lite: a foam material 20-30% lighter than common materials RB lite: a rubber 17% lighter than common rubber Foam RB lite: a foam rubber material 40% lighter than common rubber ATS: a material combined by fiber and KPU, 50% lighter than common rubber

Durability TUFF EVA: a material which can stand 20-30% compression than common EVA TUFF OS: an artificial rubber with 5 times abrasion resistance of common rubber TUSS TIP: an abrasion resistance material often used in toe cap Pavtrac: an artificial rubber with 2.5 times abrasion resistance of common rubber TUFF POD: a horizontal support structure made of rubber, plastic or EVA

Temperature and humidity controlling technology Breathe Gill: a gill-like breath system made of nylon and TPU Breathe Zone: a detachable ring Breathe Hole: a kind of air hole to enable air flow through the inside and outside of the shoe Breathe Ports: a slideable shutter which can be opened and closed according to the need of the foot. Warm AT: a thermal isolation material Waterproof: application of water-proof material and waterproofing layer technology

Foot-fit technology: Solid system: adaptable shoelace 4D-last: a kind of shoe tree 3D Footframe: a three-dimensional insole designed according to physical ergonomics made of light foam material Nrbuti: an inner sleeve made of

3. Research framework
3.1. Research questions

The objective of our research is to find which brand of sport shoes (361, Anta or Li Ning) is more liked by Chinese people. We want to find out why they prefer this brand and the relationship between the foot pressure distribution caused by each shoe and the comfort perceived by the user. In addition we want to know if the shoes manufactured by these brands are only designed for Chinese people or if Non-Chinese can also wear them. What brand of sport shoes (361, Anta or Ling) do Chinese like the most? Does the foot pressure distribution have an impact on their decision? Could these shoes also be worn by Non-Chinese? What implications does the Chinese based design of the shoes have for Non-Chinese users?

3.2.

Research hypothesis

According to our literature review, we can assume that the foot pressure distribution of every shoe is different. We think that the foot pressure distribution caused by each shoe affects directly the comfort perceived by the user. Users like the most comfortable and most effective pressure-reducing sport shoes. The main users of 361, Anta and Li Ning are Chinese people. The shoes are designed to fit their requirements. The performance of the shoes varies if theyre used by Non-Chinese people (for example Germans) with other feet characteristics.

3.3.

Milestone

Following are the mile stone which we are going to achieve in our project. The major mile stone is response to our hypotheses which is defined earlier. a) To know what are Most popular shoe brands b) To know what are basic parameters for better shoe design c) To know which brand is most commonly used in a given population d) To know what are the claims of selected shoe brands. And their quality standard parameters while designing shoes.

e) To Experiment using Peder X , a pressure measuring device , to decide the better show based on foot pressure f) Finally recommend a suitable shoe brand for a given population to do certain task wither running or playing some kind of sport The experiment will start with a survey to find out which of the three famous shoe brands is preferred by Chinese people. We start our survey in a small population like students on campus. There are different brands and sub brands of the shoes for different sports activities. We will select a particular type of shoes which is normally used by every student i: e the running shoes. The survey starts with a small informal interview by asking student about their shoe brands. We will have large enough size of sample so that it could represent the mean for whole population of the area. The next step in our experiment is to know the
basic design parameters for a better shoe, which is conducted in our literature review and the foot parameters measured in the experiment we did before. We will conduct an experiment based on foot pressure distribution to access the claims of the shoe brand company. And to recommend the most suitable design based on our calculations.

4. Experiment Methodology
4.1.

Experiment Purpose

There are two main purposes of this experiment.

First, since some Chinese shoe brands such LiNing, Anta and 361 claim that the sport shoes that they produce are specially designed for Chinese people, the purpose of the experiment is to find out whether differences exist when Chinese and non-Chinese people are wearing these brands of shoes in terms of foot pressure. Second, we want to find out whether there some relationship between the brands that people prefer and the actual foot pressure when they are wearing them. In other words, whether the foot pressure is lower when people are wearing the shoe brands they prefer than wearing the shoes they do not like.

4.2.

Device Introduction

There are a variety of plantar pressure measurement systems but in general they can be classified into one of two types: platform systems and in-shoe systems. In this experiment, an in-shoe system, the Pedar-X, is adopted (as shown in fig 1).

Figure 10 Pedar-X foot measuring Device

Figure 9 Pedar Device look

In-shoe sensors are flexible and embedded in the shoe such that measurements reflect the interface between the foot and the shoe. The system is flexible making it portable which allows a wider variety of studies with different gait tasks, footwear designs, and terrains. They are, therefore, highly recommended for studying orthotics and footwear design but there is the possibility of the sensor slipping. Sensors should be suitably secured to prevent slippage and ensure reliable results.

The Pedar-X System consists of two in-shoe insoles that measure pressure. Each insole is connected to a unit attached to the subjects waist with a belt. This unit wirelessly transmits the data to the labs computer housing the Pedar-X software. The Pedar software calculates the instantaneous location of the COP throughout the stance phase of gait. Prior to analysis the insoles are calibrated according to the manufacturers instructions.

4.3.

Experiment Procedure

4.3.1. Selection of participants and shoes

To answer our research questions we will test two different Chinese shoe brands on Chinese and German individuals. To have the same conditions for each participant we decided that every participant of each group should have the same shoe size. This way every participant can wear the same shoes. Our participant will be male students from the Tsinghua University. It is easier to find Chinese participant with one specific shoe size we first had to find out what the most common shoe size of the German students. In order to do so we created a survey in which we asked the foreigners their shoe size as well as their contact information. As you can see the result of this survey was, that the most common shoe size among the German students of the Tsinghua University is result In this study we will record foot pressure images of 20 healthy male subjects: 10 Germans (group 1) and 10 Chinese (group 2) with age ranging from 20 to 30 years old and all the participants possess average height ,weight and shoe size. To determine the most common shoe size among German students in Tsinghua University, we kindly asked all German students to fill out a survey. In this survey we did not only ask their shoe sizes, but we also asked if they would be willing to participate in our experiment. As a result of this survey, we found out that the most common shoe size among the German students is 45. See in Figure 11 Shoe Size variation

14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0
42 43 44 45
Shoe size

Number of students

46

47

48

Figure 11 Shoe Size variation

As we can see on Fig. 3 the only shoe size we could choose to build a 10 participant group was 45. Therefore we well invite 10 Germans with this shoe size to participate in our experiment. Next, we

determined that the most common shoe size for Chinese students here is 43. The shoe brands we choose are LiNing and Anta. Well buy two pair of shoes for each brand, one pair of 43 for Chinese participants and another pair of 45 participants for German students.

4.3.2. Pre-experiment
Before the formal experiment, we will do a pre-experiment to cover the whole procedure, so that we can avoid unnecessary problems in the normal experiment that may waste participants time. In the pre experiment, we will mainly figure out how to use the device and software (e.g. how to measure data and how to store data), and measure how long it will take for the whole experiment process.

4.3.3. Experiment design

We will totally do the experiments twice, one time for the German participants and another time for the Chinese participants. For each time of experiment, well divide the 10 participants into two groups and come in sequence in order to save time. When each participant comes, he will first fill out a questionnaire (see in Appendix 1) to provide some basic information (including age, height, weight) for our later analysis. Then the experiment begins. The participant will put on the device and Lining sport shoe, then do a series of postures including:
1. Standing for 2 minutes 2. Walking for 20 steps 3. Jumping for 5 times

Between each two postures, the participant can have a 15-20 seconds rest. Then the participant should repeat all the postures wearing Anta shoe. After doing all the postures, the participant needs to fill out another questionnaire mainly about their feelings while wearing these two brands of shoes (see in Appendix 2)

4.4.

Data analysis

Some independent variables include height, weight, shoe brands and postures, and dependent variables include foot pressure in different positions of the foot. 1. we will compare the standard foot pressure (meaning foot pressure excluding the effect of other factors like weight, may be defined as foot pressure/weight) of German and Chinese participants to see whether these Chinese brands of shoes fit Chinese people more 2. We will find out whether the foot pressure is lower when participants are wearing their preferred shoes.

3.

4.5.

Gantt chart

Following are the list of activities/ task which are our major miles stones to be completed. The Gantt chart shows the task with their estimated time period to finish each activity.

Figure 12 Gantt chart

5. Result and analyses

The experiment as defined in methodology section is divided into two types of data acquisition which includes data from the questionnaire survey which was an interview from all the participants who were recruited for the experiment and the data obtained using the pressure measuring device named as Pedar-X.

5.1.

Method adopted for evaluating data

The data is evaluated based on the values obtained from the device. We will present different charts and analyses data on the bases of following results.

Average pressure while jumping Average pressure while walking Average pressure while standing Overall average pressure Peak pressure on Heel Peak pressure on Toe

In the end of every chart we know the concluding marks for every chart and interpreted the results for every charts. These points will further be analyzed in the end when all the data has been concluded including the questionnaire data.

5.2.

Data from the experiment

We have devised a method before collecting a data as is explained in previous section, we formulated three task for the participants to conduct our experiment. We did totally the experiments twice, once for the German and next for Chinese participants. We had two type of brand shoes which were bought from the market with same size and two pair of shoe for each brand. All the participants were told to do the task previously defined. Every participants performed the following task while wearing the device equipment. Standing for 2 minutes Walking for 20 steps Jumping for 5 times The data for the above task were collected from the device software which measures the peak and average pressure. The data for the both German and Chinese participant is show for both type of brand show in the Table 1 Pressure Values for LiNing and Table 2 Pressure Values for 361. The participants were divided into 4 group: Germans like LiNing, Germans like 361, Chinese like LiNing and Chinese like 361. We chose one typical participant from each group to show the 3D peak pressure value which is shown in Figure 13 to Figure 20.

Table 1 Pressure Values for LiNing

LiNing
Average Name German 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Chinese 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Christian Daniel Dominik Hans Ingo Jens Paul Peter Stefan Tim GouJinlan GuoZheng HuangQian JingLiyue
HuangJunfeng

Average Zone 1 walking 180 125 207 182 182 203 202 281 173 225 151 190 115 160 170 199 129 149 168 196.00 159.00 right 14 45 70 45 25 50 45 68 45 33 58 53 40 53 63 48 63 33 53 44.00 51.56 left 18 35 68 80 55 65 48 63 60 40 68 80 70 58 75 43 68 35 38 53.20 59.44

Peak Pressure Zone 1 (heel) Zone 2 (Toe) right 193 183 213 203 190 178 168 188 193 188 163 213 183 220 225 180 168 163 193 189.70 189.78 left 195 168 175 225 233 203 188 243 163 220 253 198 218 203 225 175 175 143 175 201.30 196.11 right left

weight [kg] 84 94 85 83 74 82 84 80 80 75 61 42 65 65 60 75 70 60 62 65 German(Average ) Chinese(Average)

jumping 299 480 340 243 253 240 292 460 207 272 315 380 400 315 360 390 240 224 210 308.60 314.89

standing 81 101 91 72 63 80 71 82 73 88 80 75 50 80 80 101 60 75 90 80.20 76.78

205 270 138 165 180 253 170 138 218 165 198 125 98 188 210 138 240 228 193.00 176.67

185 215 138 230 199 233 160 135 200 193 193 115 123 180 225 138 225 158 188.33 172.22

RenXiao WangJi WangZijie Xiaofeng Zonganzhou

Table 2 Pressure Values for 361

361 Average Name German 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Chinese 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Christian Daniel Dominik Hans Ingo Jens Paul Peter Stefan Tim GouJinlan GuoZheng HuangQian JingLiyue HuangJunfeng RenXiao WangJi WangZijie Xiaofeng Zonganzhou weight [kg] 84 94 85 83 74 82 84 80 80 75 61 42 65 65 60 75 70 60 62 65 German(Average ) Chinese(Average) jumping 352 403 251 280 298 280 263 472 222 267 310 340 310 301 300 330 268 342 230 308.80 303.44 standing 151 111 135 73 111 105 84 101 72 77 77 99 78 85 80 83 60 65 60 102.00 76.33 walking 304 183 192 178 180 199 212 212 177 198 140 180 145 165 190 165 130 170 180 203.50 162.78 Average right 43 45 63 38 38 43 40 28 50 33 38 55 48 68 63 25 65 33 40 42.10 48.33 left 38 50 63 58 60 44 58 53 55 35 43 90 43 68 70 38 63 28 33 51.40 52.89 Peak Pressure Zone 1 (Heel) Zone 2 ( Toe) right 230 235 220 155 195 210 130 240 260 178 163 215 190 268 248 223 215 323 163 205.30 223.11 left 168 263 230 158 243 265 225 273 195 195 200 235 225 258 235 220 198 165 150 221.50 209.56 right left

218 220 123 273 247 248 178 143 170 198 195 215 113 228 188 143 228 143 202.22 183.44

260 213 120 296 280 225 183 133 170 240 180 189 128 193 205 133 178 133 208.89 175.44

5.2.1. Real time pictures from the device

Figure 13 Peak pressure of German who like LiNing wearing LiNing

Figure 14 Peak pressure of German who like LiNing wearing 361

From Figure 13 and Figure 14, in the part of heel and toe, the pressure with 361 is higher form the pressure with LiNing.

Figure 15 Peak pressure of German who like 361 wearing LiNing

Figure 16 Peak pressure of German who like 361 wearing 361

From Figure 15 and Figure 16, the pressure of German when wears 361 is higher than the pressure when wears LiNing. We cant tell why they prefer 361 from the picture. It is peak pressure, so maybe it only presents one period.

Figure 17 Peak pressure of Chinese who like LiNing wearing LiNing

Figure 18 Peak pressure of Chinese who like LiNing wearing 361

For Chinese, the phenomena is exactly the same. The pressure of the Chinese with 361 is higher than the pressure with LiNing.

Figure 19 Peak pressure of Chinese who like 361 wearing LiNing

Figure 20 Peak pressure of Chinese who like 361 wearing 361

The pressure values in these two pictures does not have big differences.

5.2.2. Analyses of the data

The following table shows the values for the average pressure for different task as well as different part in the shoe for Chinese as well as Germans.

GERMAN
314.89 303.44 308.60 308.80

CHINESE
Lining 361

Lining

361

188.33 208.89

189.78 223.11

201.30 221.50

189.70 205.30

PRESSUNRE [KPA]

193.00 202.22

196.11 209.56

196.00 203.50

PRESSURE [KPA]

176.67 183.44

80.20 102.00

76.78 76.33

159.00 162.78

53.20 51.40

44.00 42.10

Figure 21 pressure values for German & Chinese

Interpretation of the chart above

Average peak pressure while jumping for German for LiNing and 361 are almost same but in case of Chinese it is higher for LiNing then 361 Average pressure of heel for 361 is lower than LiNing for all Germans and Chinese. In rest of the cases the pressure values are higher for 361 then LiNing for all Germans and Chinese.

Conclusion
We can see from the figure that no matter Chinese or German, the pressure value of all with 361 is larger than that with Lining except the average pressure on the heel. In the questionnaire, we can see most of the participants prefer 361, which means the pressure of the heel has a big influence on comfortability. The pressure of Chinese is almost the same with German in all parts, so the Chinese brand shoes are not only designed for Chinese, they are fit for German, too.

51.56 48.33

59.44 52.89

172.22 175.44

5.2.3. Analysis of normalized data

As these participants belong to different countries and they have different weight and body shape, same for the foot planter surface. Therefore we have normalized the pressure by dividing pressure with the weight of every participants.

German
NORMALIZED PRESSURE [KPA/KG] NORMALIZED PRESSURE [KPA/KG] 4 3 2 1 0 jumping standing walking Average Average Peak Peak Peak Peak Zone 1 Zone 1 Zone 1 Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 2 right left right left right left Lining 361 Figure 22 Normalized pressure for German and Chinese 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

Chinese

jumping standing walking Average Average Peak Peak Peak Peak Zone 1 Zone 1 Zone 1 Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 2 right left right left right left Lining 361

Interpretation of the chart above All the values of pressure for German has greatly reduced then Chinese due to their higher weight Average pressure difference for LiNing and 361while jumping is still the same as in original pressure for German and Chinese All other pressure has same difference that is values for LiNing and 361 doesnt change after normalizing the Data. There is no trend difference after normalizing the pressure

Conclusion
We also can see from the figure that no matter Chinese or German, the pressure value of all with 361 is larger than that with Lining except the average pressure on the heel, which means the pressure of the heel has a big influence on comfortability. For normalized data, the normalized pressure of German is lower than that of Chinese.

5.2.4. Individual comparison

In the following chart every parameter is compared individual for all Chinese and Germans. We selected one parameter which is walking to understand the pressure distribution for all Chinese and Germens

German
350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 250 200

Chinese

150
100 50 0

10

Walking LiNing

Walking 361 Figure 23 pressure distribution while walking

Walking LiNing

Walking 361

Interpretation of the chart above

Above chart indicate that for most the German pressure values are higher for LiNing than 361 Most of the Values for in case of Chinese for LiNing are less than 361 There is no possible trend

5.2.5. Comparison in each group for particular Brand

Following charts shows comparison between each participant for same group of people. Three task standing, walking and jumping are compared in same group of people for the two brands that is LiNing and 361.

Chinese
Walking 159 162.78 76.78 76.33 314.89 303.44 0 50 100 150 LiNing 200 361 Figure 24 Average pressure for waling, standing and jumping 250 300 350 Walking

Germans
196 203 80.2 102 306 308.8 0 50 100 150 LiNing 200 361 250 300 350

Standing

Standing

Jumping

Jumping

Interpretation of the chart above

From the above chart it can be interpreted that for all Germans in all three task the value for pressure are higher for 361. Pressure values in case of Chinese data has variation while standing and jumping then standing as , the values are lower for 361 while jumping and standing but while walking the results are same as Germans with higher values of for 361.

5.2.6. Comparison of peak heel and toe pressure in each group

Chinese
172.44 average peak pressure on toe 179.44 Average peak pressure on toe

Germans
190.67 205.56

192.94 Average peak pressure on heel 216.33 Average peak pressure on heel

195.5 213.4

50 LiNing

100 361

150

200

250

50 LiNing

100 361

150

200

250

Figure 25 Peak pressure of heel and toe

Interpretation of the chart above

Pressure value for all the participant in both foot area is higher for 361 than LiNing There is significance difference between on the heel and toe pressure for Germans for LiNing and 361 The difference is same for Chinese as well

5.2.7. Comparison Average pressure of the heel on the foot.

The following chart shoes a comparison between the Chinese and Germans as well as the comparison for two Brands.

German Average

Chinese Average

LiNing

LiNing

361

361

45.5

46

46.5

47

47.5

48

48.5

49

48

49

50

51

52

53

54

55

56

Figure 26 average pressure of the heel

Interpretation of the chart above

We can see that the average pressure of the heel on the foot has a significance difference for LiNing and 361for Chinese as well as German These results can give us a major conclusion that all the 361 is more comfortable then liNing due to less overall pressure.

5.3.

Data from Questionnaire

The next step in our project was to get fill the questionnaire data using survey format to analyses views of the participants regarding the particular type shoe in all the steps and his overall all view about the shoe. A few simple question were asked to rate the type of brand according to its comfort during three phases of experiment. Following data picture shows a view of the questionnaire which was filled during the experiment

Figure 27 questionnaire

5.3.1.

Summary of the data collected from all the participants

Height [cm] Weight [kg] Lining Walkin Standin Jumpin g g g wiggle toe Walkin Standin g g 361 Jumpin g wiggle toe 361/LiNin g?

Name German 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Chinese 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Christian Daniel Dominik Hans Ingo Jens Paul Peter Stefan Tim

189 195 186 189 183 190 184 186 190 184

84 94 85 83 74 82 84 80 80 75

5 6 6 5 4 3 5 3 2 5

4 5 6 5 3 5 6 5 1 5

4 5 6 4 3 2 4 5 1 6

yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes

6 6 5 6 6 5 6 6 6 6

6 6 5 6 6 6 6 5 7 7

7 7 5 6 5 5 6 4 7 6

yes yes Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes

361 361 lining 361 361 361 361 361 361 361

GouJinlan GuoZheng HuangQian JingLiyue Junfeng RenXiao WangJi WangZijie Xiaofeng Zonganzhou

174 172 169 172 165 172 175 174 175 177

61 75 65 65 60 75 70 60 62 65

5 4 5 5 6 4 5 5 4 6

5 5 5 3 6 6 5 5 5 5

4 5 5 6 5 6 6 5 4 5

yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes

6 5 6 5 4 3 7 6 6 5

6 6 6 6 4 4 6 6 6 6

5 5 5 5 6 5 5 5 5 4

LiNing yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes 361 361 361 Lining LiNing 361 361 LiNing

5.3.2. Score obtained during each task separate for Chinese Germans
7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Walking Standing Lining German Chinese Averge Jumping Walking Standing 361 Jumping

Figure 28 average scores for walking, standing and jumping

Interpretation
From the chart we can see the score given by Chinese is almost the same with the scores given by Germans. We can conclude shoes of these two Chinese brands are not only designed for Chinese, it is also fit for Germans. We can see from the chart that both Chinese and Germans like 361, but Chinese seems more like 361 than German.

5.3.3. Numbers of the participants who like LiNing as well as 361

Chinese

German

4 361

6 Lining

10

12

Figure 29 numbers of participants like 361 as well as Lining

Interpretation of the chart above

Majority of the people like 361 One participant from Germany and four Chinese participant like 361. Those who like Lining dont have score greater then 6

6. Conclusion
All the study above from all charts, questionnaire, pressure distribution and research about technology value used in shoe brands, we conclude our results based on the following facts which have been most prominent to help us decide a better show
All the questionnaire results shows that most people have liked 361 more than LiNing, no matter whether Chinese or German, the reason was comfort ability, people felt more comfortable while wearing the 36.The result are show as a comparison chart in Figure 29, out 0f 20 participants, only 5 like LiNing. We can see that from the pressure distribution charts show in Figure 23 Figure 24 Figure 25 , the peak pressure for 361 are more than LiNing expect the average pressure on Heel shown in Figure 26 which makes the sense for people liking 361 rather LiNing because heel bears the maximum body load which should be more comfortable. When we further analyzed the reason for such a difference we realized that 361 is using a material named Oliga and the arch manufacturing technology which is shown in section 2.2.2. And Figure 8 in detail. It is manufactured according to the shape and mechanism of human feet alignments, the II type structure has stronger twisting resistance in comparison with traditional flat structures. The arch shaped longitudinal section, when stressed, has greater rebounding capacity. Just like a stiffener of the arch ligament, it effectively increases the strength at the arch and helps to improve human running & jumping capacity. The use of this new material can explain why the pressure is low in the heel part. The pressure is transformed from the heel to other parts and that is why for other part pressure of 361 is higher than Lining.

Based on these results and our research for this project we conclude that 361 is a better shoe brand for everyday use like walking, jumping and standing.

6.1.

Conclusion for the research question

While analyzing the data we found an interesting feature that mostly all the Chinese or German reacted the same way and the results in the questioners showed that scores for both brands were same for most of the Germans and Chinese. To further prove these results we normalized the pressure values by dividing pressure with weight as show in Figure 22. After normalizing the data we did not find any obvious difference in the pressure values to support our Hypotheses that these shoes are designed only for Chinese. Therefore the research question and the claim for Chinese shoe maker Industry that there shoes are for all proved to be correct. These shoes are not designed just for Chinese but for everyone.

7. References
Articles Periyasamy, R., et al., Preliminary investigation of foot pressure distribution variation in men and women adults while standing. The Foot, 2011. 21(3): p. 142-148 Motooka, T., et al., Foot pressure distribution in patients with gonarthrosis. The Foot, 2012. Herd, F., et al., Foot pressure in clubfootThe development of an objective assessment tool. The Foot, 2008. 18(2): p. 99-105. Nyska, M., et al., Plantar foot pressure distribution in patients with Hallux valgus treated by distal soft tissue procedure and proximal metatarsal osteotomy. Foot and ankle surgery, 1998. 4(1): p. 35-41. Hessert, M.J., et al., Foot pressure distribution during walking in young and old adults. BMC geriatrics, 2005. 5(1): p. 8. Phethean, J. and C. Nester, The influence of body weight, body mass index and gender on plantar pressures: Results of a cross-sectional study of healthy children's feet. Gait & Posture, 2012. Ashry, H.R., et al., Effectiveness of diabetic insoles to reduce foot pressures. The Journal of foot and ankle surgery, 1997. 36(4): p. 268-271. Witana, C.P., et al., Effects of surface characteristics on the plantar shape of feet and subjects perceived sensations. Applied Ergonomics, 2009. 40(2): p. 267-279

Websites http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/ss/slideshow-worst-shoes-for-your-feet http://blog.corewalking.com/the-feet/ http://3dsciencepics.com/foot-skeleton-arches-and-muscles/ http://familydoctor.org/familydoctor/en/diseases-conditions/low-back-pain/prevention.html http://www.statefundca.com/safety/ErgoMatters/StandingGuidelines.asp http://orthopraxis.de/praxis/fuss.php?locale=en http://www.tinfishshoes.co.uk/store/fitflop-shoes/cat_82.html http://www.boonhealth.com/873/the-effects-of-the-use-of-high-heels/ http://elen-cd.narod.ru/important_facts_about_high_heels_main.htm

8. Appendix
8.1. Questionnaire Charts used