The high-speed stereo photogrammetry system one company altered to help NASA study recreations of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster was picked up and used by a major shoe manufacturer to design a high-performance shoe. Engineers used the system to analyze the behavior of Olympic marathoners' feet as they hit the ground and made design and material alterations according to what they observed.
To discover how a lightweight piece of foam could have caused catastrophic damage to the Space Shuttle Columbia, NASA researchers needed stereo photogrammetry equipment that could operate at much higher frame rates than what they had. The company that supplied the existing system, which observes objects in three dimensions to analyze how materials deform during an event, enabled sufficiently high speed and now markets this version in a variety of industries.
Learn more about how NASA helped develop technology that impacts athletic shoes within your city's sports environment!