9th grade at Chadwick International (Incheon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea)
Honorable Mention
We often take our daily movements - walking to school, running, or even standing for too long - for granted. Yet, there are moments that turn a typical day into discomfort when we trip on an uneven surface, feeling a sharp pain in our lower back after standing for too long, or an awkward weight shift. While modern shoes are designed to protect our feet, they often lack the personalized support our bodies need and prevent the small, everyday injuries we’re all too familiar with. AI-powered shoes, however, will offer a customized fit for every single user and prevent us from having everyday injuries.
Modern shoes are designed to provide support, comfort, protection, and durability for your feet during various physical activities. The midsole, the cushioned material between your foot and outsole often made of EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate) foam, absorbs impact during activities, reducing the strain on the joints and legs. This foam, known for its lightweight and flexible properties, helps distribute impact forces, reducing stress on your joints during activities like running or jumping (Shoemakers Academy, n.d.). In addition, the outsole, the bottom part of a shoe that makes direct contact with the ground, is often made from rubber or synthetic rubber, a key material for providing stability. Overall, the combination of EVA foam in the midsole and rubber in the outsole ensures that modern shoes provide the necessary cushioning to support physical activities.
While traditional shoes use advanced materials to offer cushioning and support, the next generation of footwear incorporates Artificial Intelligence (AI) to make shoes even smarter. The power of AI-powered smart shoes lies in their ability to learn over time by using machine learning and AI algorithms to actively analyze and adjust to my movements. Whether I’m walking to school or playing a quick volleyball game, these shoes constantly track my unique movement patterns. The AI algorithm processes this data to map the contours of your feet as you walk, run, or stand. For individuals with disabilities, smart shoes can monitor foot temperature and pressure, offering therapeutic benefits and helping manage conditions like diabetic neuropathy. Xfinito Biodesigns, for example, developed a smart shoe that adapts to the wearer’s foot dynamics, improving comfort and reducing discomfort (MathWorks, 2022). If your foot swells after a long run or changes throughout the day, the shoes can automatically reshape to provide the perfect fit. Using adjustable tension systems, the shoe can expand or contract based on the feedback from the sensors. The AI would analyze areas of uneven pressure or high stress on your foot, adjusting the shoe’s structure to provide optimal support and comfort at all times.
AI-powered smart shoes would need to collect a variety of data, including pressure points on foot, gait patterns, movement tracking, and foot shape, which would be stored on a cloud-based platform, such as a mobile app to ensure real-time analysis, long-term tracking, and personalized feedback. Pressure sensors within the shoes measure the distribution of force across key areas like the heel, midfoot, and forefoot, helping the AI to monitor how force is distributed during walking, running, or jumping. Accelerometers track motion and movement dynamics, allowing the AI to analyze how I move, offering adjustments for more efficient or safer movement. Infrared foot scanners could map the contours of the foot, detecting changes in shape or swelling and automatically adjusting the fit using shape memory materials or adaptive tension systems.
While smart shoes provide advanced features, they also pose risks related to data security and inaccurate feedback. These shoes collect personal data, including details about your foot pressure, gait, and even location which might be exposed to hackers. For example, using GPS sensors to monitor running or walking routes could unintentionally reveal personal habits, like where you live or your regular travel locations (Balaban, 2024). In the worst case, someone could access this data and grasp your routes, allowing them to break into your home while you’re away.
Furthermore, inaccurate AI feedback could also present risks if it incorrectly adjusts your shoes and gives you the wrong recommendations. For instance, there were instances where wearable fitness trackers often provided inaccurate readings and activity data to the users during physical activity, which resulted in misinformed decisions about the user’s activity (Hymas, 2024). Misinterpreting sensor data in AI-powered shoes could have similar consequences, leading to incorrect adjustments to the fit or cushioning. Without proper consideration of factors like fatigue or overuse, the system could make recommendations that might not be in the user’s best interest.
To mitigate the risks associated with AI-powered smart shoes, data encryption, two-factor authentication, and user interventions must be put in place. First, to ensure data security, the shoes should use encryption for all personal data including location, foot pressure, gait patterns, and health metrics. All data collected by the sensor within the shoes should be encrypted before being transmitted to any connected devices or cloud-based platforms. This encryption ensures that sensitive information, like movement patterns or health data, cannot be accessed by unauthorized people (Cocoara, 2024). Secure cloud storage must be used to store this encrypted data, ensuring that it is protected from data leaking.
Secondly, implementing two-factor authentication (2FA) for accessing the mobile app or cloud storage is a critical safeguard. 2FA requires users to provide two forms of identification–something they know (like a password) and something they have (such as a fingerprint or facial recognition)–before granting access to the data. Using biometric authentication as the second factor ensures that only the authorized user can access their personal data (Kirvan, 2024). This additional layer of security reduces the risk of unauthorized access, as even if a password is compromised and the user loses the device, the second factor helps prevent potential attackers from gaining access (Kirvan, 2024).
Finally, consulting users before making any adjustments to the shoe’s features is also essential to avoid unintended consequences like discomfort or injury. For example, if the shoe’s AI detects pressure imbalances and suggests increasing cushioning in a specific area, it could include a message like: “Based on your recent walking data, this adjustment is recommended to prevent potential strain on your feet. Would you like to apply this change?” Along with this recommendation, the system could provide a link to the data or reasoning behind the suggestion such as, “This suggestion is based on your last week’s activity data.” This ensures that users can have full control over their shoes, just like verifying and adjusting a suggestion based on source data.
According to research, 28% of older adults reported experiencing difficulty, and 17% reported being unable to walk a quarter mile (Hardy, 2010). With the help of smart shoes, they will be able to walk better and longer with less pain. AI can track each step, analyze forms, continuously adjust cushions for you, and offer real-time feedback. With the proper security measures and supervision from the user, AI-powered shoes will become a powerful tool in supporting everyone in a sustainable and safe manner.
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These winning entries in the 2025 EngineerGirl Writing Contest showcase the lifecycle of everyday items and the types of engineering involved along the way. Congratulations to all winners and finalists!
