The practice of sport and associated performance are pillars of human development. The driving forces are numerous and often very personal: health, play, pleasure, reconnecting with nature….
Developing a product can be a relatively long cycle: design, creation of prototypes, mechanical and biomechanical tests in the laboratory, ‘field’ tests with users… and market trends evolve rapidly under the influence of top athletes, clusters or specialized analysts.
Brands and sporting goods manufacturers are vying with each other in their creativity to enable new communities of sports enthusiasts to combine well-being and performance.
We support sports brands with a unique team comprising :
At every stage of product development, we work alongside materials, R&D and innovation engineers, designers and marketing teams, while preserving the brand’s identity.
When creating a new model, to limit the number of prototypes and avoid the sometimes complex procurement of materials for laboratory testing, our teams work with you to design the digital model of the product. Depending on the issues at stake, this can take the form of a workshop to validate initial hypotheses, or a more in-depth study such as a Proof of Concept to present a project, or a unique 100% digital study that could lead to the launch of a first prototype.
Transfer our knowledge of product/athlete interaction to the biomedical field, and adapt our models for products designed for the disabled.
The definition of cushioning can vary from one individual to another, from one brand of sport to another. What’s more, the need for cushioning also varies from one individual to another. Indeed, most runners have a heel-strike type of stride, and therefore need shoes that will cushion the shock at the start of their stride. This will be reflected in the presence of a passive peak on the ground reaction force curves. For runners with a midfoot or forefoot attack, cushioning is provided actively by the body’s muscles.
To meet the needs of these different types of runners, sports shoe constructions have evolved considerably in recent years, with the appearance of minimalist shoes designed to be as close as possible to man’s natural stride, shoes with very thick soles, or new shoe constructions with foams combined with carbon plates, designed to optimize energy exchanges between the start of the stride and propulsion.
Our expertise in modeling the human body and viscoelastic and carbon materials enables us to create finite element models of running and walking strides, and to analyze energy loss during heel strike, and energy return during the transition from heel strike to propulsion. This optimizes the geometric construction/material combination of sports shoe soles.
The spine is an essential part of the human body and is often the cause of a worldwide problem: back pain. According to estimates, 2 to 5% of the world’s population currently suffers from a recognized pathology. The proportion of people suffering from back pain will continue to rise in the years to come: working seated in front of a computer, poor posture linked to the use of smartphones or the carrying of backpacks, particularly for children, all present unfavorable conditions.
Another determining factor is the ageing of the population, which is accompanied by an increase in the number of people potentially suffering from back pain.
The scientific community agrees on one thing: keeping physically active is vital. This activity must remain a source of pleasure, motivation and well-being.
We are therefore working on the creation of a digital core, with the aim of developing products (flexible corsets, sports products) aimed at improving posture while practicing a sport. The complementary nature of musculoskeletal and finite element modeling is ideal for simulating the postural correction provided by products, and thus finding innovative solutions.
