Abstract: A sole portion for an item of footwear having a plurality of cleat systems, cleats, or plate structures that dissipate force by deflecting, deforming, displacing or otherwise shifting under selected force, or by facilitating cleat movement around a radial line during ground engagement.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a method of training an autoencoder neural network includes determining autoencoder design parameters for the autoencoder neural network, including an input image size for an input image, a compression ratio for compression of the input image into a latent vector, and a latent vector size for the latent vector. The input image size is determined based on a resolution of training images and a size of target features to be detected. The compression ratio is determined based on entropy of the training images. The latent vector size is determined based on the compression ratio. The method further includes training the autoencoder neural network based on the autoencoder design parameters and the training dataset, and then saving the trained autoencoder neural network on a storage device.

Abstract: A composite product characterized in that said product is produced and prepared by a continuous process comprising mixing water permeated municipal solid waste (MSW) with a municipal solid waste solidification reagent, wherein said solidification reagent initiates a polymerization reaction with the waste and the polymerization reaction forms a rigid polymer matrix therein. In addition, the polymer matrix also expands in volume during the polymerization reaction to form a foamed, environmentally stable, recycled composite product.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a sole unit for shoes, sandals, boots, and other articles of footwear. The sole unit comprises at least one spring unit having at least a top wall and a bottom wall that define an opening to allow the top and bottom walls to converge under force, absorbing energy on impact and releasing energy on rebound. Variations in the longitudinal profile, transverse profile, spring-wall thickness, and spring-wall shape permit control over spring force in response to compression. A spring unit may further comprise one or more dampeners to modify the energy-storing properties of the spring unit. A spring unit may further comprise one or more bumpers that come into contact at predetermined distances when compressing the spring unit, to further modify the dynamic response of the spring under a load.

Abstract: A shoe having a shock absorbing bottom comprising one or more compartments filled with gas, for example air or nitrogen and which functions as a spring and one or more dampers which function to control rebound and vibrations. The damper can be viscoelastomeric material.

Abstract: A foamed solid product characterized in that said product is produced and prepared by a continuos process comprising mixing water permeated municipal solid waste (MSW) with a solidification reagent, wherein said solidification reagent initiates a polymerization reaction with the waste and the polymerization reaction forms a rigid polymer matrix therein. In addition, the polymer matrix also expands in volume during the polymerization reaction to form a foamed, environmentally stable, recycled solid product.