At the Leading Edge of Gait and Motion Research

Walking is not only a way of locomotion, but also helps to improve the quality of life throughout a person’s lifetime. At Kao, we have been developing gait analysis technology for more than 10 years with the aim of developing disposable diapers that are easy to walk in and supporting the gait and health of the elderly. In our gait and motion research, we precisely analyze gait and movements in three dimensions by attaching specialized markers to 57 locations throughout the body in the movement analysis control room. To make this technology accessible in daily life, we have established a technology to analyze 2D images from a smartphone in detail as 3D walking motions, making full use of machine learning. We also developed a smartphone application that enables self-monitoring of walking posture and characteristics by simply walking eight steps.

Kao is also developing products related to gait and motion.
This includes, for example, lotions that can be applied to the legs before walking, rehabilitation, or exercise, to cool the legs for more comfort during movement, and products containing milk-derived sphingomyelin that assist neural transmission to the leg muscles and support leg movement and balance.

These technologies and products offer new approaches to research topics related to sports physiology from general to the competitive level. In particular, we expect them to find applications in the healthcare industry, and to help generate new scientific findings related to maintaining and improving physiological and motor functions of the human body, through providing research approaches centering on sports physiology and biomechanics.