World’s Lightest Basketball Shoe

 

THE PEOPLE INVOLVED

“NBA Most Valuable Player candidate Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls was spending time with adidas’ footwear-development teams one weekend in 2009 when he saw the shoe that he’ll wear in the NBA playoffs tomorrow.

Rose clamored for the shoe to be made available immediately, but adidas assuaged him by saying he’d love it when R&D was finished. And ready it now is, with adidas taking yet another step in providing its athletes and consumers with the sports industry’s lightest footwear.

The ‘Adizero CrazyLight’ will be available for $130 retail June 3 in four color schemes: sharp blue/white, black/red/white, gray/white/neon green and red/white. The shoe weighs in at just 9.8 ounces, making it 15 percent lighter than the nearest mid-top basketball shoe and half-an-ounce lighter than the next low-top.

The launch of the Crazy Light comes on the heels, so to speak, of two recent additions to the adiZero line: the 6.9-ounce 5-Star football cleat and the 5.8-ounce F50 soccer cleat, each of which is considered the lightest in its sport. Now, the Crazy Light takes claims that prize for basketball.

“We’ve reached our destination,” said adidas VP Lawerence Norman during a Manhattan news conference Thursday to announce the shoe.

As adidas designer Robbie Fuller told Wired.com, professional and collegiate athletes continuously cite light weight, cushioning and support as the three essential criteria for a shoe. “Every component [in the Crazy Light] had to check those three boxes,” Fuller said.
Fuller and the design team started with a new Sprintweb “exoskeleton” to define the shoe’s upper, which adidas engineer Elysia Davis called the first of two fundamental technologies to ensure the Crazy Light would have the proper support and stability while maintaining such a light weight. ”

 

HOW DOES THE TECHNOLOGY BENEFIT US?

At less than 1 mm thick and with strong bonding properties that provide vertical and horizontal strength in the shoe, Sprintweb ensures that the shoe’s light weight won’t let it break down with heavy use. Davis emphasized that every part of the upper connects to something strong. “If you’re getting tension from the laces through the eye stays, that’s going to be a load-bearing element of the shoe,” Davis told Wired.com. And so each eye stay is connected to a lower part of the shoe that can absorb the stress of each movement.

That was also critical to the second piece of tech Davis emphasized: determining where material would be placed in the shoe.

 

THE INNOVATION BEHIND THE SHOE

The innovation team studied video of basketball movements to look for areas where weight could be placed and other areas where it could be saved. The goal was to provide an upper with multidirectional support, because basketball players constantly make linear and lateral movements. “Some of the challenges you might not have to consider in a conventional upper, you have to take into consideration” with a lighter shoe, Davis said.

In order to help the shoe live up to its name, the design team used translucent nylon in the upper to decrease weight. The effect is three-fold: The mesh-like material adheres to the shoe’s minimalist design, it improves breathability throughout the foot, and it adds aesthetic intrigue by letting the consumer look through one side of the shoe and out the other.

One lightweight element added to the Crazy Light is adidas’ Sprintframe. Already used in other adiZero models, this technology for the shoe’s chassis makes has the external heel counter stitched to the sock liner — just two layers. Fuller said the conventional method is very different: “Shoes typically have an outer-upper layer, then glue, then a heel counter, then glue, then foam, then glue, then lining, then a sock liner.”

 

The Crazy Light’s lightweight emphasis made its way from the shoe’s upper down to its underside. The outside part of the traction system has thicker rubber for added durability. Its midfoot area was slimmed down, although varying traction patterns are abundant. The pivot area toward the inside of the foot allows for quick, cutting movements. The S-curve that travels through the middle of the shoe from the inner heel to the outside toes is built with thin longitudinal grooves, incorporating optimal traction while reducing the top impediment to court grip.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.adidas.com/us/shoes-adizero-basketball/_/N-svZ1z13ofrZ1z13y9k?sequenceparam=svZ1z13ofrZ1z13y9k&cm_mmc=AdieSEM_Google-_-Basketball-B-Exact-_-Shoes-Products_B-Adizero_Crazy_Light-General-_-adidas%20crazy%20light&cm_mmca1=US&cm_mmca2=Exact

http://www.footlocker.com/_-_/keyword-adidas+crazy+light

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1163419-adidas-crazy-light-2-breaking-down-basketballs-lightest-shoe

http://www.wired.com/playbook/2011/04/adidas-lightest-basketball-shoe

 

Food development

Development starts with a brief and market research. The design specification is tested and a manufacturing specification is written for production. There also need to be quality-control checks, part of a process called quality assurance.

Foods are developed in a number of stages. They need to be tested and evaluated throughout these stages to ensure they are meeting requirements.

Brief

The first stage of food development is the brief, which is the problem that needs to be solved. For example, developing a lasagne for health conscious consumers.

Market research

Market research means finding out information about what people want from a product. It includes studying market trends and shopping habits. This can be done by conducting surveys, questionnaires, and telephone interviews. For example, would people buy a low fat lasagne?

Design specification

The design specification is the first attempt at listing the needs of the product. It includes:

• size
• shape
• shelf life
• weight
• sensory characteristics (taste, texture, appearance, etc)
• costs
• ingredients (with quantities)
• equipment

Shortlisting and testing

Initial ideas are generated following the design specification. These are then shortlisted based on concept screening, where five or six ideas are chosen, based on which ideas best meet the design specification.

Sensory testing

It is essential to test sensory qualities. The results are analysed so that the product can be improved or changed. This is called sensory analysis.

Ranking tests

Similar products are tested for a specific characteristic, for example saltiness. Samples are given randomly coded names, and testers sort the products from most to least salty.

Rating tests

Products are tested for a specific characteristic to find out if there is a noticeable difference between two products. For example, manufacturers can test a new low fat version of a product to see if it is similar to the original

Manufacturing specification

The manufacturing specification lists information a manufacturer needs to produce the product. The specification records the stages of the production process, with details of all the characteristics (shape, size, texture, colour, flavour etc) required in the final product.

It also lists where standard components can be used. A standard component is a pre-prepared ingredient used in the production of a food product, like pizza bases or ready-made sauces.

Quality control

Quality assurance (QA) guarantees that food meets a clear, consistent set of standards. At key stages in production there should be quality control checksso manufacturers are alerted to any problems. The results of these checks are recorded. Checks can be done by hand or by computer.

Quality control checks will normally include:

• weight checks to make sure the product is the required weight
• visual checks to make sure it looks the way it should
• temperature checks to make sure it is being kept at an appropriate temperature
• pH checks to make sure the food has the correct acidity/alkalinity
• microbiological checks to make sure bacteria are not at harmful levels
• chemical checks to guard against chemical contamination
• metal checks to guard against contamination by metals (usually at the packing stage, using a metal detector)
• organoleptic checks to check flavour, texture and aroma by sampling the food product

Why is ‘Food Product Development’ important to us?

Product Development can be crucial for boosting food industries in the country like India, for example, the world’s second largest producer of fruits and vegetables. Food safety and consumer protection measures either in shape of mandatory food laws or Total Quality Management require much investment in R & D, thus barring small scale industries and entrepreneurs to enter into the trials of new recipes. But there are simple and scientific methods, for example sensory evaluation techniques, which when applied to new concept of recipes or to less popular regional fruits and vegetables products can prove to be revolutionary.

Key to Innovation Success

Tomorrow’s winning companies will be those that understand and accept these challenges, and find ways to address them through processes and solutions focused on new product innovation. New product success requires excellence in three areas:

(1) reducing product development cycle time

(2) increasing product development innovation,

(3) reusing company knowledge assets.

In the twenty-first century, the ability to innovate better and faster than the competition trumps all other areas of competitive advantage.

Sources:

http://www.dmflavors.com/product_innovation_group.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/design/foodtech/productdevelopmentrev1.shtml

http://www.techno-preneur.net/information-desk/sciencetech-magazine/2009/june09/Product-Development.pdf

http://www.product-lifecycle-management.info/white-papers/kalypso/PLM-White-Paper-Kalypso-8-CPG-21st-Century-Product-Development-Processes-PLM-Emerges-as-Key-Innovation-Driver.pdf

Before 1900, most wood furniture was made with woods like walnut, oak,
mahogany, rosewood, fruitwoods, and rare wood veneers and inlays were in
commonly used. American Colonial furniture was dependent on the local
availability of wood. Their furniture was made with maple, oak, walnut, birch,
and cherry, as well as pine. The preferred furniture woods were readily
available, so less attractive or durable woods were used only for hidden parts
inside a piece.

Main Categories

All woods used for making furniture fall into two categories – hardwoods and softwoods, but the designation doesn’t really have anything to do with how hard or how soft the wood is. “Hardwood” identifies the trees that lose their leaves seasonally and “softwood” refers to those that keep their foliage all year.

HARDWOODS

Mahogany: Fine grained, reddish brown in color. Very durable and resists swelling shrinking, and warping. Used for quality furniture such as cabinets; boat construction; wood facings and veneers.

Walnut: Fine textured, strong, easy to work with and resists shrinking and warping and finishes well. Best used for gunstocks, solid and veneered furniture, novelties, cabinetry and wall paneling.

Oak: Strong with good bending qualities. Is durable and finishes well and resists moisture absorption. Used for furniture, trimming, boat framing, desks and flooring.

Maple: Fine textured and is fine textures. It is strong and hard. Has moderate shrinkage and machines well. Best used in flooring, fine furniture and woodenware such as bowling alleys

Cherry: Close-grained and resists warping and shrinking. It will redden when exposed to sunlight and ages well. Used in cabinet making, boat trim, novelties, solid furniture handles and turned projects.

Rosewood: Very hard and has a dark reddish brown color. It is fragrant and close grained. It is hard to work and takes high polish. Used in musical instruments, piano cases, tool handles, art projects, veneers and furniture.

Teak: Hard and durable and resistant the moisture and rot. It resists warping, cracking and decay. Best used in fine furniture, paneling, shipbuilding, doors, window framing, flooring and general construction.

SOFTWOODS

Pine: It has uniform texture, works easy and finishes well. It resists shrinkage, swelling and warping. Used in house construction, paneling and trim. Also used for furniture, molding and boxes.

Hemlock: Light in weight, uniformly textured. It machines well and has low resistance to decay and nonresinous. Used for construction lumber, planks, doors, boards, paneling, sub flooring and crates.

Fir: Works easy and finishes well. Uniform in texture and nonresinous. Has low resistance to decay. Used in furniture, doors, frames, windows, plywood, veneer, general millwork and interior trim.

Redwood: Light in weight, durable and easy to work. Has a natural resistance to decay. Used in outdoor furniture, fencing, house siding, interior finishing, veneering and paneling.

Spruce: Strong and hard. Finishes well and has low resistance to decay. Has moderate shrinkage and light in weight. Used for masts and spars for ships, aircraft, crates, boxes, general millwork and ladders.

Cedar: Fresh sweet odor and reddish in color. Easy to work and uniform in texture and is resistant to decay. Used in chest making, closet lining, shingles, posts, dock planks, novelties and Venetian blinds.