Optimal control simulation predicts effects of midsole materials on energy cost of running

Testing sports equipment with athletes is costly, time-consuming, hazardous and sometimes impracticable. We propose a method for virtual testing of running shoes and predict how midsoles made of BOOST^TM affect energy cost of running. We contribute a visco-elastic contact model and identified model parameters based on load-displacement measurements. We propose a virtual study using optimal control simulation of musculoskeletal models. The predicted reduction in energy cost of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:mo>∼</mml:mo><mml:mn>1</mml:mn><mml:mi>%</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:math> for BOOST^TM in comparison to conventional materials is consistent with experimental studies. This indicates that the proposed method is capable of replacing experimental studies in the future.