• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.83-88
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• 2016

Over the last five years, 568 people have died while hiking according to 2015 statistics from the public safety ministry. Among those deaths, approximately 33% were due to loss of footing or falling. In this respect, the highly advanced functions of hiking boots should be considered to prevent these unfortunate accidents. For example, by utilizing the Internet of Things (IoT) and Information and Communications Technology (ICT), hiking boots equipped with a Global Positioning System (GPS) or vital signs monitoring systems should be considered. In addition, many challenges remain for the production of 3D printed hiking boots, because the functions of hiking boots are variable, which is important when handling changing terrains and situations. The design of customized hiking boots was introduced in this paper, and 3D printing applications for midsoles using a Porous Polymer Printing (PPP) method was also suggested to verify the possibility of manufacturing hiking boots.