The product we have created has been specifically chosen to appeal to triathletes of a beginner level. While many may think that cycling shoes are non-essential for entry level triathletes, they are actually a nessesity for all triathletes, beggeniners and pros alike. Many competitors are turned away by the extortionate prices that the average cycling shoe costs. Our product solves this plight by making a cheap, reliable and simple product that can be 3d printed within hours, and size adjusted on Grasshopper. The cycling shoe exoskeleton that we have created provides enough support with the velcro straps, and elevated curves on the sides to allow the user to experience the full feeling of having a real cycling shoe on. Another bennefit that our exoskeleton offers is that when the competitor needs to remove his/her cycling shoe and change into running shoes all they need to do is loosen the velcro, and step out.

Our exoskeleton cycling attachment is important because it offers an alternative to expensive cycling shoes for entry triathletes and cyclists alike, and it can be detattched from your shoe whenever your would like to remove it. Some athletes never purchase cycling shoes because they just do not feel the need to change shoes for more performance, but our product avoids that problem so you never have to make that decision in the first place.

For our one week Independent Project we decided to improve upon the cycling exoskeleton we had worked on in the 3rd session. As we have explained in our original portfolio, our product is a 3D-printed exoskeleton that fits around a running shoe. For our independent project we honed in on improving our exoskeleton in a few different ways: making the shoe lighter, giving the shoe a better fit, and creating a more aesthetically pleasing shoe. Also, we consulted with a local bike shop and entry level cyclists to receive their input on our shoe.  

When meeting with cyclists, and shop owners they gave us a small list of things that could be approved upon:

1. We could emit certain parts from the sole 
   • ​​We ended up using a grasshopper called Voroni to excise parts of the sole in an intricate pattern. 
2. The bike clip we had attached on the bottom was backwards
   • This was an easy fix to correct because all we had to do was super glue the clip the other way. The heel of the shoe was too hig
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3. We rectified this by going back to the T-Splines file to lower the heel
   • The toe overhang was too large
4. A simple T-Splines edit helped 
   • Airflow needed to be increased 
5. We increased air flow by extruding multiple arrays of circles in the heel, and also with Voronoi; the grasshopper function.
   • The back extrusions for velcro could be rotated so that it would be easier to use the heel strap.
6. Learning new grasshopper functions in just one week was very hard, but; thankfully, there were many Voronoi tutorials online to help us out. 

We sought to solve the timeless problem of discomfort in high heel-wearers. This often leads to intense pain and carrying a multitude of more comfortable shoes everywhere just to minimize wearing heels. Previous attempts at a changeable high heel have been either ugly or difficult to use. 

4th and Final Iteration:

For our final iteration, we had our 3D-printed sole with the louvers bolted into the holes and the felt draped on the top.

The main idea of our "pores" shoe is to allow for both breathability and the cooling down of your foot. Although most running sneakers use moisture-wicking material (mesh), we found that many peoples' feet are still very much heat-induced while wearing them. Our goal is to naturally "cool down" your feet with louvers that manually open and close like window shutters. Also, our triangulated design soles allow for more breathability of your foot. 

We created a breathable shoe that changes as you walk and cools your foot down in the process. It is composed of three main parts; the heel, the sole, and the outer shoe.

The sole is 3D printed and works like a bellow. There is a hinge in the shoe that allows the heel to expand and contract. When the heel contracts it pushes air through your shoe and cools your foot down. The sole has origami around it that expands and contracts as you walk, creating the air-tight bellow.

The upper part of the shoe is 3D printed and is meant to camouflage the origami in the heel and add cohesiveness to the design. It uses the same pattern as the origami sole, but doesn’t expand and contract.

The heel is made of fabric and is laser cut. It is made of layers of fabric stacked on top of each other to look like a sneaker. The layers are all sewn together. The outer shoe is what holds all the parts together and makes it look like a shoe.