Supportive Indoor Footwear Design
for the Aging Population
MIT Age Lab, Jan. 2022 - May 2022
Student Research Project
ProductDesign/Ergonomics
Reimagining Footwear for Seniors In this collaboration with the MIT AgeLab and designer Sheng-Hung Lee, we explored redesigning indoor shoes to better meet older adults' needs. Through sketches and interviews, we investigated ergonomic solutions to make footwear more accessible and comfortable for seniors.
Skills
- Human-centered design
- Rhinoceros 3D
- Industrial Design/Sketching
- Concept clustering
Problem Statement/Identifying Needs
Adult-acquired flatfoot afflicts up to 5 million Americans, with over 50% of people over 40 at risk of developing this debilitating condition. It makes standing and walking more tiring, further reducing seniors' quality of life. While supportive designs like these are common in outdoor shoes, they aren't available for indoor footwear. However, seniors spend over 80% of their time at home, and studies show that supportive indoor shoes can increase their daily standing time by 2 hours.
Design Requirements
- Adaptability: The shoes must accommodate varying degrees of flatfoot syndrome and deformation.
- Feedback: The shoes should indicate through colors or signals when improper pressure is applied, using electronics or materials.
- Comfort: The structural components must be ergonomic and comfortable. Typical indoor shoes have complex parts that cause discomfort. These shoes should be appealing to wear daily.
Results
Through brainstorming and gathering feedback from seniors, I designed sketches for customizable, supportive indoor shoes. The key features are removable arch supports with adjustable height, and pressure sensors under the arch that provide feedback on foot pressure distribution using an electrical or stamp-like mechanism. Users can tune the arch support and make corrections based on the sensor feedback to find the optimal comfort and support.
