ABSTRACT

Athletic footwear research and testing is carried out at industrial and academic institutions with mutual interaction steadily increasing. This chapter illustrates the circumstances and interaction opportunities of the two settings from an industrial perspective. It describes how fruitful interaction can be organized by discussing respective structural characteristics. The continuous demand of functional and commercial footwear innovation serves as background for the introduction of the standard product creation process. Additionally, the important preceding role of academic baseline research to establish solid proof of innovative and functional footwear concepts is described. The key company departments involved in the product creation process, planning, design, and development are introduced by illustrating their respective roles during product creation. Thereby, valuable benefits due to routine and specific interaction with science and research are pointed out. The toolbox of research procedures available for comprehensive footwear evaluation and

29.1 Background ...................................................................................................606 29.1.1 Athletic Footwear .............................................................................606 29.1.2 Functional Footwear Innovation .......................................................608