Preliminary research to decrease splashing mud during walking

Abstract

Splashing mud caused by walking on wet surfaces is one of the annoying aspects of daily life. Previous research has shown that the degree to which mud splashes is highly dependent on walking posture. However, proper shoe design can help to minimize this problem. Preliminary research is required to enable the designing of shoes that will miinimize splashing mud. This study demonstrated how shoe fit contributes to the splashing of mud when walking on wet, muddy surfaces. In the experiment, subjects showed a varying number of mud splashes after walking on a simple artificial wet path wearing shoes that fit differently. The results demonstrated a strong association between shoe fit and the number of mud splashes in all subjects. The results of this research suggest that a proper shoe design can decrease the splashing of mud when walking on wet, muddy surfaces.