The Performance Fit Lab has an awesome team whose research focus is to advance human performance by conducting rigorous scientific studies that measure the biomechanical impact of shoe fit on performance. Together with their brand partners, BOA is developing new product configurations that utilize the BOA Fit System to revolutionize traditional upper shoe construction and improve performance. They have created solutions for many sports from running to snowboarding as well as improving the fit and performance of workwear.
The Performance Fit Team has been using The MotionMonitor® software since 2019. We are delighted to work with them and continue to help them find the best configuration solutions for their ever-changing needs. In the Fit Lab, the BOA team make use of an optical motion capture system, instrumented treadmill and force plates, all of which are fully integrated, and synced. The team uses The MotionMonitor’s bi-directional control of the instrumented treadmill to automate research protocols with user-controlled speed, acceleration & decelerations settings, perform self-paced walking & running, and more. The MotionMonitor system enables BOA to test and quantify the desired performance outcomes to either fuel further research and development or for supporting their marketing efforts.
Daniel Feeney, PhD. is the Director of Biomechanics Research and Performance Fit Lab at BOA®. Dan says, “The MotionMonitor® has been integral to us scaling our biomechanics and product development program to over 400 tests per year. Their real-time data visualization, ability to quickly generate testing reports, and unending support for our difficult research questions has created an invaluable partnership.”
It was exciting to see Dan and the team present their most recent research at North American Congress on Biomechanics (NACOB) in Ottawa earlier in the summer. Presentations included a model for variation in running economy (Kate Harrison¹, Bradley Davidson², Eric Honert¹, Daniel Feeney¹: ¹BOA Technology, ²University of Denver); Boa-enabled performance wrap improving power transfer in road cycling (Bethany Kilpatrick¹, Kathryn Harrison¹, Eric Honert¹, Daniel Feeney¹: ¹BOA Technology), and the effect of upper panel stiffness on biomechanics performance (Adam Luftglass¹, Daniel Feeney², Robin Queen³: ¹Granata Biomechanics Lab, ²BOA Technology, ³Virginia Tech). See more on their presentations here.
To learn more about what BOA is doing to improve fit and performance, listen in on a recent interview with Dan on the Footwear Insight Extra blog: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dan-feeney-ph-d-director-of-boas-biomechanics/id1455134320?i=1000579469664. Follow them on LinkedIn for the latest news on their research.
