Statistical Validation of User Needs for Morpho-Active Auxetic Integration in Sports Protective Gear
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63468/Keywords:
cross-sectional; protective gear; morpho-active; auxetic metamaterialsAbstract
A cross-sectional survey quantifying self-reported barriers was piloted to using protective gear and interest in adaptive gear in multi-sport athletes (N = 53, ages 18-31+)․ Even though athletes reported frequent injury and near universal protection, a large proportion of users reported discontinuation, most commonly due to discomfort of protective gear․ The most important limitations were restricted mobility, rigidity, poor fit and excessive heating․ Equipment that adapts to body movements was preferred, which corresponds to morpho-active auxetic system. These results provide a case for further investigating the use of auxetic metamaterials to realize sports equipment that expands laterally when stretched in order to provide more conforming, energy-absorbing, and indentation-resistant protection than now possible [1][2]. In summary, the needs of athletes can be captured as a user-driven design specification for next-generation adaptive protective equipment for further biomechanical prototyping and validation.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Aisha Hameed, Khadija Shoaib, Uroosa Naz
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