Customizable Footwear Rendering and Onsite Manufacturing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current technologies for customizing consumer products, such as footwear, face challenges in user selection and onsite delivery, with limitations in user interface design and manufacturing efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for customizing consumer products using computing devices that generate user interfaces for product design, allowing users to select and visualize customizations, which are then manufactured and delivered during the same shopping visit, utilizing a customization server to update product renderings and generate electronic files for manufacturing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If users select products for customization through traditional interfaces, then product customization capability is provided, but user selection efficiency and interface complexity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The customization interface is segmented into multiple independent axes (e.g., first axis for color selection, second axis for material selection, third axis for design elements). Each axis handles a specific customization dimension, allowing users to navigate options systematically rather than overwhelming them with all choices at once. This segmentation reduces perceived interface complexity while maintaining full customization capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces multi-dimensional navigation by organizing customization options along multiple independent axes rather than a single linear menu. Users can scroll or navigate along different axes to access different types of customizations (color, material, design, etc.), transforming a potentially complex single-dimension interface into an organized multi-dimensional space that is easier to explore and select from.
2Ease of manufacture
If traditional manufacturing processes are used for customized products, then manufacturing capability is maintained, but production time and delivery speed worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-configuring manufacturing parameters and selecting appropriate manufacturing processes before the actual production begins. When a user completes customization, the system automatically prepares the manufacturing data, selects the suitable production method, and initiates the process immediately, eliminating delays between design completion and manufacturing start.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements parameter changes by dynamically adjusting manufacturing parameters based on the selected customization options. Different customization combinations trigger different manufacturing parameters (e.g., material properties, cutting patterns, assembly sequences). This automated parameter adjustment enables rapid reconfiguration of the manufacturing process to accommodate customizations without sacrificing production efficiency.
3Adaptability or versatility
If detailed customization options are provided, then product design flexibility is improved, but information processing requirements and system complexity worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses copying by creating and maintaining digital representations (models) of the product and its customization options. Instead of processing raw information about every possible customization, the system uses pre-defined digital models that can be efficiently stored, manipulated, and transmitted. These digital copies enable the system to handle detailed customization information without overwhelming information processing requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements universality by creating a standardized framework and data structure that can accommodate multiple types of customizations through a common interface. The same underlying system handles different customization categories (color, material, design elements) using unified data models and processing logic, reducing the need for separate information processing systems for each customization type.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are provided for customizing consumer products. A display device may present a rendering of a customizable product to a user. The display device may also present a set of customizations on a scrollable axis. An input interface such as a touch interface may receive a selection of at least one customization from the user, and the rendering of the product may be updated to display the customizations selected by the user. An electronic file may be generated that includes product manufacturing details, which indicate the customizations selected by the user. The product may be an article of footwear, and a printer may print the selected customizations on the article of footwear.