The three products that the human body must interface with the most are the seat we sit in, bed we sleep in, and our shoes. We’re going to take a couple minutes to explore the future world of shoes.With the advent of inexpensive imbedded microprocessors and the proliferation of sensors, transducers, and transceivers, a whole world of possibilities begins to arise for the lowly shoe. The 64-bit chips that run the Nintendo 64 video games sold for $1,000 in 1993, now sell for under $20. The world of embedded-chip technology is a very competitive marketplace, creating bargains for end users. Some chips that run in cars and microwaves cost less than $1.

Many people assume that with all of the design work being done by the shoe industry giants such as Nike, Adidas, and AirWalk that few possibilities are left for engineering the next generation shoes. But the creative thinkers at The DaVinci Institute think otherwise.

Let’s first start with the problem of how the bottom of the foot comes in contact the innersole of the shoe. Even with better contours and the use of advance foam technologies, the factory made shoe does a poor job of matching the nuances of the highly individualized foot. People wearing even the most expensive shoes will develop pressure points, hot spots, and various discomforts while walking great distances.

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