Product Customization via Physical Swatch Capture
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for customizing consumer products, such as footwear and apparel, often rely on inaccurate virtual representations due to limitations in displaying color and texture, which do not accurately reflect the actual materials, leading to user dissatisfaction and poor design outcomes.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that utilize a user's computing device to generate a 3D representation of a product on a 2D display, allowing users to customize various aspects of the product, including the upper, midsole, and logo, using physical tokens with tactile materials that provide a real-world experience, enabling accurate material selection and reflection in the virtual design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If simple color wheels and virtual overlays are used for product customization, then the system complexity is reduced and ease of operation is improved, but the accuracy of color and texture representation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses physical color swatches that are direct copies of the actual product materials. These swatches are captured by a camera to create virtual representations, ensuring the virtual display accurately reflects the true color and texture of the material. This copying approach maintains measurement precision while keeping the user interface simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a camera as an intermediary device between the physical color swatches and the digital display. The camera captures the actual color and texture properties of the swatches and transfers this information to the virtual representation, serving as a mediator that ensures accurate color transmission without requiring complex color management systems.
2Device complexity
If display device settings and lighting conditions are used for virtual color representation, then the system complexity is reduced, but the reliability of color accuracy deteriorates due to variations in display and lighting
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of relying on display device settings that vary between devices, the patent creates a physical copy (color swatch) of the actual product material. This swatch is then captured by a camera, creating a digital representation that is consistent across all devices. The copying process ensures that the color information is preserved in its original form without being affected by display variations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/optical system of display devices and lighting conditions with a camera-based capture system. By using the camera to capture the actual color swatch and displaying that captured image, the system eliminates dependence on display device settings and ambient lighting, ensuring consistent color representation across different viewing conditions.
3Ease of manufacture
If virtual representations are used without physical material samples, then the device complexity is reduced and ease of manufacture is improved, but the loss of information about actual material properties increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates physical copies (color swatches) of the actual product materials that can be handled and examined by users. These swatches retain the true material properties including color, texture, and reflectivity. The swatches are then captured by a camera to create digital representations, ensuring that complete material information is preserved and transferred to the virtual interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces physical color swatches as an intermediary between the actual product materials and the digital interface. These swatches serve as information carriers that preserve all material properties. The camera then acts as a second intermediary, capturing the swatch properties and transferring them to the digital domain, thereby preventing information loss while maintaining ease of manufacture.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for designing and customizing tangible products are disclosed. Examples may include apparel, such as footwear, shirts, or sporting goods, athletic equipment and/or electronic devices, including but not limited to activity monitoring devices or media devices. Aspects relate to customizing products based on visual and tactile properties of the materials to be utilized in the design and construction of the product. Both the visual and tactile property selections may be displayed to the consumer to on an exemplary graphical representation of the product. Embodiments allow a user to select and review both visual and tactile properties of the product, thus the consumer is able to visualize and touch the materials of a customized product.