Background: About UCHIDA
Founded in 1968, Uchida is a Japan-based* one-stop manufacturing company with strengths in CFRP and composite material mold processing and prototype development for next-generation mobility. In this issue, we offer our “developer’s story” of our CFRP product developments and soon to be released carbon insoles for children.
*Uchida is based in Miyoshi-cho, Iruma-gun of Saitama Prefecture, Japan.
The Lead Up to Creating Products for Peoples’ Everyday Use
Our technology has played a key role in prototype development and product manufacturing across diverse fields from mannequins, where we started out, through to motorcycle, automobile, aviation, aerospace, defense, medical, welfare, art, and industrial equipment, and other specialist industries. While working with such high-end industries, we started to think about ways to make products that would support everyday people and living. Our answer began in 2014 with the launch of a joint project with the Research Institute of the National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities (NRCD) to innovate a new long-leg brace exoskeleton for people with spinal cord injuries using lightweight and highly durable carbon.
Years of repeated trial and error came to fruition in 2021 with the completion of an Olympic-model long-leg brace prototype which we equipped with added specifications required for the event. The recent and memorable unveiling took place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay with user of the new orthotic brace user (pilot user) parading briskly and heroically through the progression, signaling the completion of development and the next level of mobility. With development finally completed, we handed the reins over to our joint-developer researcher for product commercialization and are now looking forward to seeing the classy lightweight device being used by the masses soon.
Our Motivations behind the Development of a Carbon Insole
With C-FREX development nearing completion, we started to look for a new future direction as a department.
Our stance up until this point:
- Develop anyway (just give it a go).
- Promote technologies at exhibitions and trade shows.
- Pursue new markets and customers.
While we did not have a role model department, our desire to create our own products, from in-house developed know-how and products, grew stronger and stronger as our sales and development activities progressed.
COVID-19 Pandemic: Achievements at the End of 2020
2020 was a year when the world was demanding a life self-restraint beyond anything we had experienced before. With my children growing stressed from being locked up in inside and unable to run around in the park, I started coming up with new ideas for exercise and fun.
We ran up and down driveway with our children and played games such as badminton or jump rope. However, while watching my children racing around burning up pent-up energy, I noticed that they were slow on their feet. I began wondering if there was any way I could use our company’s technology to help them run faster and have more fun. That’s when the idea to create insoles that leverage the spring effect of CFRP to support running came to me. This was the starting point for our BAKUSOLE insoles.
*Temporary logo for the planning stage
Development Stage
At first, we created prototypes to fit our feet (adult size), as this was easy to measure and evaluate, and used the road in front of the company to conduct 50-meter runs, standing long jumps, vertical jumps, and other quantifiable evaluations. However, the data lacked credibility due to variations in physical conditions, moods, and other factors. Consequently, we consulted the Saitama Prefectural University to use their well-established biomechanical measurement facilities and, thus, embarked on a one-year-and-a-half joint research project to measure and evaluate valuable data.
Data-driven Development
Saitama Prefectural University is one of few universities with a measurement environment and facilities capable of generating ultra-precise data on human walking and running motion. One example is the ground reaction force (GRF) plates, embedded into the floor, which can be combined with in-built treadmills and motion capture systems to visualize joint movements and GRF directions.
Our evaluations were conducted with the added support of Professor Takanori Kokubun, associate professor of Department of Physical Therapies, who accompanied us and provided extensive knowledge in the field of biomechanics and development, greatly contributing to our product development.
On February 24, 2022, we obtained the measurement results we were looking for and could finally rejoice with Professor Kokubun and the team.
Next, we conducted multiple measurements with children, both with and without the insoles, to determine changes in muscle activity, variations in propulsive force during kick-off, and the degree of flex or bend in the insoles at the time. We used this data together with advice from Professor Kokubun to improve and refine the design.
Motivating Force behind the Development
The long two and a half road from initial planning was driven by two main motivations.
1) High expectations from the children
This was the biggest motivation. The annual sports day was approaching, and my children kept eagerly asking “Are the insoles ready yet? I can’t wait to put them on and run!” Seeing their eager and expecting faces, despite their young age, was a major driving force that encouraged me to keep going. I had to succeed in getting the insoles completed and on the market.
2) The Enthusiasm of the Development Team and Uchida
Despite starting from a random idea, the development team worked on the project with enormous dedication and a fun attitude. Their excitement alongside the tremendous support shown to us by our company over two and a half years of development, made me even more determined to live up to their expectations and succeed.
The Future from Here
Our aim for BAKUSOLE insoles was not just research and development but to further link it to market sales. However, with a background mainly in BtoB business, we had limited knowledge of the market for general consumers. To achieve our goal, we engaged the commercial assistance of Saitama Prefectural Industrial Technology Center and, with the additional continuous support of designers who cooperated with us, were able to get to where we are now.
The data obtained demonstrates that the insoles provide direct support for exercise. Now, we have only one more mission to complete. Getting children who have negative feeling about running or athletic events to go outside and have fun running around with our BAKUSOLEs. We want to see their smiling happy faces and hope that this small internal support device can offer children the freedom and support to do so.
iR9/ New Business Promotion Office
“BAKUSOLE” Development Team