Digitizing Military Footwear Provisioning through Foot Measurement and Shoe Matching - 25.41
Title:
Digitizing Military Footwear Provisioning through Foot Measurement and Shoe Matching
Authors:
Andres PRADA GONZALEZ
Footprint Technologies GmbH, Berlin, Germany
Abstract:
While many armed forces are advancing toward digital transformation, several core logistical processes remain largely manual and error-prone. One such process is the provisioning of properly fitting footwear for soldiers - across a range of models including different combat boots, leather shoes, sneakers, flip-flops, and even ski boots. Today, sizing decisions often rely on limited trained personnel and are made under stress and rush, leading to discomfort, inefficiency, and returns for the soldiers.
In this work, we present a cost-efficient digitized solution for optimizing shoe size recommendations. Our system enables any operator - without prior training - to measure a soldier's feet using a mobile web application on any smartphone and receive accurate size suggestions for multiple shoe models at once. We collaborated with footwear manufacturers to collect precise inner shoe dimensions and tuned key recommendation parameters, including toe allowance, foot width-to-length ratios, and toe splay, among others.
The tool was tested in a production environment with over 300 soldiers at a military site, following an initial calibration phase involving measurements from 120 individuals. We evaluated size recommendations for more than 10 shoe types, across male and female soldiers. The system achieved over 90% accuracy in fit feedback, significantly reducing the need for size changes. Notably, certain models showed better compatibility with specific foot types, where sex-based morphological differences were evident, while others offered more universal fits.
This approach led to more than 50% reduction in sizing process time, while introducing full traceability and consistency across evaluations. Every sizing session is stored, allowing feedback integration and future learning. Upcoming deployments for different military clients will scale the system to over 60 equipment sites, reaching more than 20,000 soldiers annually.
Abstract:
Presentation:
VIDEO will be available here in Q3.2026.
VIDEO availble in proceedings (purchase order)
How to Cite (MLA):
A. Prada Gonzalez, "Digitizing Military Footwear Provisioning through Foot Measurement and Shoe Matching", Proceedings of 3DBODY.TECH 2025 - 16th International Conference and Expo on 3D/4D Body Scanning, Data and Processing Technologies, Lugano, Switzerland, 21-22 Oct. 2025, #41
Details:
Proceedings: 3DBODY.TECH 2025, 21-22 Oct. 2025, Lugano, Switzerland
Paper/Presentation: #41
DOI: -
License/Copyright notice
Proceedings: © Hometrica Consulting - Dr. Nicola D'Apuzzo, Switzerland, hometrica.ch.
Authors retain all rights to individual papers, which are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
The papers appearing in the proceedings reflect the author's opinions. Their inclusion in the proceedings does not necessary constitute endorsement by the editor or by the publisher.
Note: click the + on the top left of the page to open/close the menu.