Abrasion wear analysis in running shoes using a gridded methodology with CIE-L-a-b colour identification

Abstract

Wear identification and projection have eluded shoe manufacturers due to the myriad of factors that affect the abrasion wear of shoes. Using a gridded three-dimensional cloud comparison in CloudCompare software, abrasion wear thickness of shoes was identified using the CIE-L-a-b colour system that is interpolated with the physical formula representation of colours. After obtaining the thickness lost, other wear factors like the material properties of the shoe sole, the runners’ personal profile and the running schedule were combined for wear projection. The methodological process from a non-destructive wear detection to wear projection allows shoe manufacturers to reduce the iterations of wear testing while maximizing the entire analysis of shoe wear. Shoe samples were kindly sponsored by ASICS Institute of Sport Science.