Safety footwear sizing recommendation based on AI and 3D data

The footwear industry faces a challenge inherent to its very nature—the great anatomical variability of feet among the population makes it difficult to recommend a size that ensures an optimal fit for each case, which has a direct impact on the comfort and health of the foot. 

A poorly fitting shoe not only fails to meet customer expectations and increases the rate of returns (a particular concern for specialised footwear manufacturers with low online sales volumes) but, in the area of safety footwear, it can seriously compromise the health of workers. 

Aware of this problem, safety footwear manufacturer Base Protection reached out to the Instituto de Biomecánica de Valencia (IBV) with the aim of responding to this need through innovative technological solutions that transform the way footwear sizes are selected as well as the customer’s shopping experience.

About the client

Base Protection is a manufacturer of comfortable, lightweight, anti-fatigue safety footwear. With a consolidated presence in the market and recognised for its commitment to innovation, quality and the environment, the company has managed to distinguish itself in this highly competitive sector.

It uses advanced technologies to ensure that each pair of shoes not only meets safety standards, but also offers an exceptional wearing experience, accommodating the specific needs of workers in a variety of industrial environments. However, the dilemma of shoe fitting in the digital age was an unresolved issue.

Challenges and needs

Base Protection’s challenge can be summarised in four factors:

• Have a reliable size recommendation system based on fit or the relationship between the inner shape of the shoe and the shape of the foot.

Traditional methods based on size charts that consider mainly the length and, in some cases, the width of the foot, are not sufficient to address the complex variations in the morphology of individual feet. This is because the foot has several important additional variables that are essential for a proper fit of a shoe, such as arch height, heel thickness and toe shape.

• Recommendations should consider both the size of the shoe and the insole that is best suited to each wearer according to his or her plantar anatomy.

Insoles are as important as the size of the shoe itself, as they provide crucial arch support, help distribute weight, allow customisation of fit, are able to correct posture and gait, absorb shock and can even extend the life of the shoe. 

In the case of Base Protection, this challenge was particularly complicated, as they work with 200 models of footwear manufactured with 14 different shoe lasts.

• The recommendations technology had to be easily integrated with online sales.

As part of the process of improving the shopping experience at Base Protection, it was essential that the size recommendation technology was not only accurate, but also integrated seamlessly with the company’s online sales to ensure a frictionless user experience.

• The same technology should also be able to be implemented in physical stores. 

The implementation of size recommendation technology in physical stores was crucial for Base Protection in its quest to create a consistent omni-channel shopping experience. This would allow the company to provide instant expert advice and, in turn, collect purchase data and customer preferences at all points of contact.

Solution provided by the IBV

The IBV provided a technological solution that combined Artificial Intelligence and Biomechanics, two fields that are key to the precise recommendation of shoe sizes. For this reason, Base Protection not only opted for a 3D foot shape scanning technology, but also developed an ad-hoc project for the adaptation of the footwear and insole recommendation algorithms to its own safety footwear models. 

The integration focused on three fundamental aspects:

• Foot scanning technology. The IBV offered two technological solutions for a 3D scan of the foot: 

1. The 3D Avatar Feet mobile app, designed to support users in online purchases. From three photos taken with a smartphone, which are uploaded and processed in the cloud, it allows the 3D rendering of the foot and provides more than 20 measurements.

2. The DOMEscan/IBV scanner, for use in physical stores and clinics, generates a 3D digital reconstruction of the shape of the foot, calculates the foot’s measurements and provides a recommended shoe size in just a few seconds.

Base Protection has implemented both technologies. On the one hand, it has integrated the 3D Avatar Feet application libraries into its own mobile application. On the other hand, it has DOMEscan/IBV equipment in several stores across the globe.

• Statistical modelling of foot-shoe interaction. Using the data collected, statistical and mathematical techniques are applied to analyse the relationships between foot and shoe characteristics and predict how different shoe designs fit the various morphologies of the human foot beyond traditional measurements such as length or width.

In order to carry out this modelling, a research study was conducted with a representative sample of regular users of safety footwear, collecting their opinions on fit and sizing.

• Transfer of footwear and insole recommendation algorithms. Base Protection wanted to implement the size recommendation system across its entire footwear collection, so it provided information on each of its product lines (footwear, lasts and insoles) to the IBV. 

The following steps were followed for the transfer of the algorithms:

1. Extraction of foot shape parameters and calculation of plantar morphology indices: These are the base data for shoe fitting and insole recommendations, respectively.

2. Fit modelling: Statistical methods were used to relate foot shape parameters to the fit of the product.

3. Configuration of the way in which information is displayed to the user: Base Protection chose to include the recommended size for the selected model, as well as an assessment of the expected fit — slim, neutral or snug.

Results

Based on the technologies developed by the IBV and taking advantage, on the one hand, of their easy integration in the different sales channels (both physical and online) and, on the other hand, the possibility of completely customising the prediction models to fit the products of each company, Base Protection launched SCAN&FIT. 

It is a mobile application that provides a recommendation of footwear model, size and insole that best suits each user, ensuring an optimal fit and size without the need to try on different models. 

In addition, these recommendations systems are updated and improved autonomously by using the information that users provide to the system during the shopping process, so that the results become increasingly optimised with use.

Therefore, this technology not only improves the comfort and the safety of workers, but also makes the process of large-scale purchase of work shoes by companies more efficient, thus solving the great challenge faced by Base Protection.

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