MAI student invented a device for putting on shoes without the help of hands

Anna Filaretova, the student of the Institute № 7 "Robotic and Intelligent Systems", together with her team created a device designed for putting on shoes without the use of hands. The invention will be useful for disabled people, mentally and physically challenged people, as well as for those who are overweight, or who undergo rehabilitation after injuries and operations, and experience joint illnesses.

– One of my family members has difficulties with putting on the shoes, and one day the idea to create a device that would help such people came to me, – said Anna Filaretova. – Now the team of our project "Shoeputter" unites students of MAI, Bauman Moscow State Technical University, Lobachevsky University, SPbGUPTD. We have been working on the project for a year and have already produced a prototype.

The device includes an electronics unit and a mechanism that can push back and return the tongue of the shoe, untie and tie the laces, as well as loosen and tighten the lacing. Commands are sent via a button in the smartphone app. In the future, the voice control function will be added.

As the student notes, similar concept was implemented by Nike, that produced sneakers with automatic lacing inspired by the movie "Back to the Future-2". However, the purchase of such shoes is not available to everyone: the cost of one pair is over 50,000 rubles. At the same time, Russian invention will cost about 9,000 rubles for a single production, and about 4,500 rubles for a mass production. In this case, the device can be installed to different shoes, that is, the owner will not experience problems with the change of seasons, as in the case of sneakers.

The project won the first place at the All-Russian competition "Your business. Young Entrepreneur of Russia" in the nomination "Social entrepreneurship". The developers have also reached the finals of the youth entrepreneurship program "I'm in business", and now they are participating in the student entrepreneurship festival "Moscow – the starting point".

In the spring, it is planned to start testing the "Shoeputter" for the target audience, after which students expect to release the first batch of devices for sale.