Award of Merit:

Blundstone Australia and Monash University for Blundstone Intelligent Footwear

SensiLab, Monash University - a team of storytellers, artists, makers, hackers, designers, developers, musicians, coders, scientists, theorists, luthiers and builders. Through our research we explore the innovative creative applications and undiscovered opportunities of technology. Working across disciplines, approaches and materials, we approach each inquiry with curiosity and rigour in order to learn through creating. We acknowledge process as well as outcome, and value the experiential and the sensory. We create spaces where new connections can be made and believe that new thinking emerges from diversity, genuine collaboration, and an openness to the unexpected. 

Design Health Collab, Monash University - Design Health Collab is an interdisciplinary research lab situated at the intersection of design and health. We use a people-centred design approach to understand and activate significant, high-impact healthcare services and products in the world. Our research takes place at the centre of the complex ecosystem of health services, patients, clinicians, nurses, device manufacturers, medical researchers, engineers, and healthcare management. 

Blundstone is renowned for its safety and leisure footwear with factories in Hobart and around the globe. 100% Australian owned, the company recently expanded its Tasmanian base with the opening of a dedicated design centre in the Hobart suburb of Moonah. The Blundstone design team for this project was based in Hobart with the technical lead working from home in Melbourne. Their team is made up of diverse women and men with shoemaking, fashion and industrial design backgrounds. Blundstone prides itself on being a conscientious global citizen employing the highest standards of practice at its factories both in Australia and around the world.

About the Project

The Blundstone Intelligent Footwear project was driven by a desire to meet the needs of healthcare workers, providing a next-generation solution to understanding the needs of footwear OH&S and comfort in these demanding environments. The shoes use a custom sensor system to capture a rich body of data about the day-to-day challenges faced by the wearer, using machine-learning techniques to provide real-time feedback and task classification. The project was centred around combining advanced materials, manufacturing techniques, and emerging technologies together with the rich heritage of bootmaking and workplace safety the Blundstone is known for both locally and internationally. Overarching all of this were user-centred design processes bringing together ethnography with healthcare workers, and co-design workshops with key stakeholders. 

Through advanced manufacturing and design processes, the shoe seamlessly integrates a complex sensing system into a purpose-designed pair of boots. Bringing technology previously only found in research labs out into real-world healthcare environments to collect rich data and provide real-time user feedback. These shoes are each capable of sensing 32 regions of plantar pressure, 12 axes of motion data (orientation and acceleration), and 6 zones of temperature per pair. Through machine-learning analysis, the shoes are capable of classifying tasks undertaken throughout a work shift. This classification can identify different postures, changes in walking gait and the lifting of heavy loads. Visualisation of this data can show areas of high pressure across the workday and highlight potential problem areas. With future development and additional training of the machine learning systems, the shoes have the possibility to identify fatigue, injury risk and other safety concerns in real-time. 

Sustainability was at the forefront of our design approach. The shoe uses advanced materials such as plant-based materials in the footbeds and a computer knitted collar that eliminates material waste. In order to provide inherent chemical and bacterial resistance, a non-leather upper material was used, and the sole is a recyclable PU with rubber tread. The prototype was made in a state-of-the-art factory located in Vietnam using high-quality materials sourced both locally and from Italy.

Category: Use

Designers and Project Team:
Elliott Wilson
Rowan Page
Andrew Dickinson
Jon McCormack
Mark Armstong
Daphne Flynn
Rod Kidd
Hayley Brown
Richard Morfuni
Bronte Kerley