2026 Undergraduate Research Showcase

Pressure Sensing Insoles Estimate Vertical GRFs During Loaded Walking

Document Type

Student Presentation

Presentation Date

4-24-2026

Faculty Sponsor

Dr. Tyler Brown and Aden Harrison

Abstract

Military personnel routinely walk with heavy body borne load. Donning heavy body borne load leads to large increases in vertical GRFs that elevate risk of musculoskeletal injury. Recent advances in pressure-sensing insoles may feasibly quantify vertical GRF measures during loaded walking. Yet it is currently unknown if insoles accurately quantify the larger increases in vertical GRFs when walking with load. This study aimed to quantify vertical GRFs with pressuring insoles during loaded walking and compare their accuracy with force platform (gold-standard) derived GRF measures. We expect insole derived vertical GRFs measures to exhibit moderate to strong relationship with force platform derived measures, but that the insole measures will consistently underestimate the magnitude of vertical GRF, particularly with the addition of heavy loads. To test this hypothesis, participants will walk 1.3m/s with three body borne loads (0, 15, 30 kg) over three surfaces (hard, uneven and soft). During each task, we will calculate, peak,impulse, and loading rate of the stance phase vertical GRF using both the pressure-sensing insoles and force platform.

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