Integrating bioinspired structures into the design of climbing shoes
Engineering of Sport 15 - Proceedings from the 15th International Conference on the Engineering of Sport (ISEA 2024)
Through the imitation of the natural world, it is possible to develop synthetic products that mimic the distinctive characteristics of living things. Bioinspired design has the potential to enhance the safe use, overall efficiency, and performance of a product. The latter provides rationale for the integration of bioinspired features in the field of sports engineering. Indeed, there is already evidence of sports engineers turning to nature to inspire the next generation of products. In climbing, despite the activity being naturally associated with animals, there is little evidence of the use of bioinspired design. Climbing mammals use distinctive features on their feet to navigate challenging natural structures such as trees and rocks. Our previous work in this area involved the study of mammalian foot morphology, comparing rock climbing species to other with different locomotion modes [1]. From studying 166 species and 18 orders, five mammalian orders (Artiodactyla, Rodentia, Afrosoricida, Carnivora & Lagomorpha) were associated with rock climbing. These species had few digits and large anterior pads. They also often had hooves or, if they had foot pads, these were relatively smooth. However, how do we take the next step, to incorporate these observations into a bio-inspired concept? This work will develop the first bioinspired concepts for climbing shoes, by i) investigating mammalian foot pad texture in more detail; ii) brainstorming concept ideas; iii) replicating concept textures in rubber; and iv) testing the concepts.