Garment Mobility Mapping for Wearable Comfort
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Solution Overview
Problem
Work uniforms often cause discomfort due to tightness and restrictions at various locations when wearers perform repetitive actions, highlighting the need for garments designed to accommodate wearer mobility and provide better fit and comfort.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for mapping wearer mobility involves identifying common usage patterns, using motion capture technology to create opportunity and problem maps that highlight stretch and compression areas, and applying these maps to design garments that reduce restrictions and enhance mobility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If garments are designed with tight fit for work uniforms, then professional appearance and functionality are improved, but wearer comfort and mobility are worsened due to tightness and restrictions at various locations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating mobility maps that identify specific locations on the body experiencing stretch or compression during work movements. Garment patterns are then modified locally at these identified problem areas while maintaining the overall professional fit, allowing different parts of the garment to have different properties - tight where professional appearance is needed and loose where mobility is required
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamics by using motion capture technology to analyze actual wearer movements and create dynamic mobility maps that show how the garment behaves during various work activities. This allows the garment design to adapt to dynamic movement patterns rather than static measurements, ensuring comfort during actual work operations while maintaining professional appearance at rest
2Ease of operation
If garments are designed to accommodate all wearer movements, then wearer comfort and mobility are improved, but garment fit precision and professional appearance are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by applying local quality through targeted modifications only at identified problem locations on the mobility map. Rather than adding excess fabric throughout the entire garment, the design makes precise local adjustments only where stretch or compression issues occur, maintaining overall fit precision and professional appearance while improving comfort at specific movement-critical areas
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the garment into multiple pattern pieces and making specific modifications to individual segments based on the mobility map data. This allows precise adjustment of fabric distribution in different body regions independently, accommodating movement requirements in specific areas without compromising the overall fit and professional appearance of the entire garment
3Manufacturing precision
If motion capture technology and detailed mapping are used in garment design, then garment fit and mobility optimization are improved, but design process complexity and time are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies copying by using motion capture technology to create a digital mobility map that replicates actual wearer movements and garment behavior. This digital copy serves as a template for pattern modifications, allowing designers to visualize and analyze movement patterns before making physical alterations to the garment, thereby reducing trial-and-error iterations and simplifying the overall design process
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback by using the mobility map data to iteratively refine garment patterns based on actual movement analysis. The system provides visual feedback showing where stretch or compression occurs during work movements, allowing designers to make informed adjustments and verify improvements through subsequent motion capture analysis, thereby optimizing fit without requiring excessive manual trial-and-error
Data Source
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Figure 4A
AI summary
A method for mapping wearer mobility includes identifying common usage patterns and usage positions by the garment wearer, attaching markers used in motion capture photography to the bare skin of a test subject, and recording position and movement data of the test subject while the test subject repeats the common usage patterns and usage positions. The position and movement data are processed to create an opportunity map which identifies stretch and compression areas of the test subject. Markers are attached to a garment worn by a test subject and position and movement data are recorded while the test subject repeats the common usage patterns and usage positions. The data are analyzed to create a problem map which identifies stretch and compression areas of the garment. A mobility map is created based on the opportunity map and problem map that creates a garment design that reduces compression and stretch area.