Milestone 1: Concept Proposals
Scope Definition
Our project will be focusing on enhancing the hiking experience. We will be focusing on hikers who would not mind using technology during their hiking experience. There are hikers that do not like to use any technology when hiking and they are not included in the scope of this project. A big part of the hiking experience is taking in the scenery. Our concepts do not focus directly on how a hiker takes in the scenery, but rather focusing on preventing some common issues during hiking that can hamper the experience of enjoying the scenery as well as enhancing another big aspect of hiking, the physical exercise that comes with hiking.
Motivations and Preliminary Observations
To understand our problem more, we based our observations on past experiences of group members, existing research, and feedback from online forums.
Key Insights
- Hikers strive for comfort and durability.
- Hikers pride themselves on carrying the least amount of gear that will last a long time.
- The right hiking shoes are important.
- Shoes can take weeks to break in.
- In Facebook forums, we noticed a popular topic is asking for durable gear and comfortable shoe recommendations (https://www.facebook.com/groups/2525572810/).
- Foot problems are a huge issue.
- Blisters are a major problem. A popular technique to deal with blisters is duct tape.
- Foot fungus is another common issue among hikers - http://sectionhiker.com/toe-nail-fungus-treatment-and-prevention/
- If you are hiking and have foot fungus, you need to take your shoes off every few hours to air your feet out.
- Socks are extremely important for breathability and comfort.
- Feet swelling can cause discomfort from shoes.
- It is easy to obtain injuries while hiking.
- For new hikers, it is easy to overexert yourself and cause injury. Such injuries can prevent hikers from walking and force them to rest for long periods of time.
Ideation Process
As a group we held a brainstorming session to talk about our preliminary observations and research that has been done in the scope of the project. Based on our discussions, we came up with multiple initial ideas that can enhance the hiking experience. Each of us sketched a number of concept ideas that fit into three overarching categories: preventing foot infections, enhancing techniques and avoiding injuries.
Concept Proposal
1. Preventing foot fungi and infections
One risk when hiking is the threat of developing foot fungus or infections. Certain fungi, like toenail fungi, are common among long distance hikers. While physical injuries can be difficult to ignore, ignoring wet/sweaty socks is quite easy. The smart sock would have thin, metal sensors woven into the fabric that detect the heat and moisture. These fibers would send this information to either a smartphone or watch and would display a warning message saying it is time to air your feet out. The goal of this concept is to prevent hikers from acquiring any sort of infection or fungi.
One risk when hiking is the threat of developing foot fungus or infections. Certain fungi, like toenail fungi, are common among long distance hikers. While physical injuries can be difficult to ignore, ignoring wet/sweaty socks is quite easy. The smart sock would have thin, metal sensors woven into the fabric that detect the heat and moisture. These fibers would send this information to either a smartphone or watch and would display a warning message saying it is time to air your feet out. The goal of this concept is to prevent hikers from acquiring any sort of infection or fungi.
2. Enhancing technique by encouraging proper form and correct muscle engagement
Outdoor activities such as hiking and rock climbing attract many people. While engaged in a physical activity, they can also enjoy the natural beauty of environment, a component that is missing in indoor recreational centers. However, because nature essentially offers very diverse set of challenges compared to cardio machines, it is also more difficult to make sure athletes maintain proper form in all circumstances. Uneven and sometimes steep terrains make the physical engagement more complex. The various compositional arrangements of physical features of outdoor spaces call for technical capabilities of athletes especially in the context of climbing where optimal placing and weighting of body parts matters the most. It would be useful to detect the type of activities the athlete is engaged in such as hiking, running and climbing based on the muscle groups involved and provide feedback leading to better overall performance. Excessive pressure on specific muscles can be computed and in case of an obvious mistake, the real-time tracking system can notify the athlete.
Outdoor activities such as hiking and rock climbing attract many people. While engaged in a physical activity, they can also enjoy the natural beauty of environment, a component that is missing in indoor recreational centers. However, because nature essentially offers very diverse set of challenges compared to cardio machines, it is also more difficult to make sure athletes maintain proper form in all circumstances. Uneven and sometimes steep terrains make the physical engagement more complex. The various compositional arrangements of physical features of outdoor spaces call for technical capabilities of athletes especially in the context of climbing where optimal placing and weighting of body parts matters the most. It would be useful to detect the type of activities the athlete is engaged in such as hiking, running and climbing based on the muscle groups involved and provide feedback leading to better overall performance. Excessive pressure on specific muscles can be computed and in case of an obvious mistake, the real-time tracking system can notify the athlete.
3. Avoiding injuries
Blisters are a common hiking injury. They can also be hard to detect as sometimes blisters do not arise until a hike is over. Too much pressure on the feet is one of the lead causing factors of blisters. A common tool used to detect foot pressure are pressure sensing mats, which are used by physicians to analyze a person’s gait and foot function and provide recommendations on how to improve things like posture, stance, and gait. Shoes can implement this same technology by creating an insole with a pressure sensing map or implementing pressure sensors into the shoe. The shoe can then detect areas where there is excessive pressure on the foot and warns the user before a blister can form. This warning could be in the form of a vibration, beeping noise, or light and allows the user to take preventive measures before blisters can form. It is also possible that this technology could be used on socks as well.
Blisters are a common hiking injury. They can also be hard to detect as sometimes blisters do not arise until a hike is over. Too much pressure on the feet is one of the lead causing factors of blisters. A common tool used to detect foot pressure are pressure sensing mats, which are used by physicians to analyze a person’s gait and foot function and provide recommendations on how to improve things like posture, stance, and gait. Shoes can implement this same technology by creating an insole with a pressure sensing map or implementing pressure sensors into the shoe. The shoe can then detect areas where there is excessive pressure on the foot and warns the user before a blister can form. This warning could be in the form of a vibration, beeping noise, or light and allows the user to take preventive measures before blisters can form. It is also possible that this technology could be used on socks as well.