Ales Jurca

VP Footwear Research

Ales Jurca, VP Footwear Research. Sailing and cross-country skiing.

About Ales

Ales Jurca, VP Footwear Research at Volumental, has been applying 3D foot scanning technology to the footwear industry since 1999. He started as Chief R&D Manager at Alpina, the world’s largest cross-country boots producer, where he introduced 3D foot scanning into the last design process and into footwear retail. Among other projects he has managed foot scanning campaigns and 3D data analysis for the Swiss army and EU Project Dorothy. 

Ales holds an MSc in Robotics and Biomechanics from Ljubljana University and is finishing his Ph.D. at Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School with a focus on using AI for shoe sizing recommendations.

Recent published research:

Analysis of 1.2 million foot scans from North America, Europe and Asia

Analysis of hallux valgus angles automatically extracted from 3D foot scans taken in North America, Europe, and Asia

Estimating Footwear Fit by Using 3D Foot Scans of Shoe Shoppers

 

Foot measurements should be the most essential data in order to design and develop good fitting shoes. Makes sense, right? Well, if all of us being a part of the footwear industry are truly honest, we should admit that most footwear brands have very limited or no information about customers’ feet. The recent installations of 3D foot scanning technology into footwear retail makes it possible to collect large data sets of 3D scans of customers’ feet. These data sets provide new opportunities for research of foot dimensions and shapes. Findings of such research can widely improve the fit of footwear if being utilized in the design process.