INESC TEC helps Kyaia install prototype that manufactures shoes pair by pair

INESC TEC helps Kyaia install prototype that manufactures shoes pair by pair

Did you know that you can now order a customised pair of shoes online and have it on your doorstep in 24 hours? Thanks to a partnership between technology-based companies and R&D institutions, including INESC TEC, the technology makes it possible to produce footwear units, and is now installed at Kyaia, in Guimarães. The new solution to produce customised footwear in 24 hours was developed as part of the HighSpeedShoeFactory (Model to Produce Customised Footwear) project, and changes the way the footwear industry operates.

03rd February 2015

In an industry that is traditionally characterised by separate production units – cutting, seams, assembly and finishing –, with autonomous organisation and management processes, this organisational model will make it possible to manufacture the shoes pair by pair. As a result, the industry will have a single production flow, composed of integrated distribution systems with automated cutting and control (online) of the flow of products and processes.

With this new technology, the manufacturing systems will become more flexible and prepared to simultaneously produce small amounts and different models, as the unit is completely automated and interconnected by conveyors that assure the flow of raw materials and the product in its different stages. This new solution represents improvements in terms of efficiency, flexibility and layout, increasing productivity in the factory.

Supported by Compete, as part of the System of Incentives for Research and Technological Development, this is one of the projects developed within ShoeInov, the innovation network for the footwear industry. The HighSpeedShoeFactory was led by Kyaia, and developed by Flowmat - Sistemas Industriais; Silva e Ferreira; Creativesystems; CEI - Companhia de Equipamentos Industriais; Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto and the Portuguese Footwear Centre. The INESC TEC team included Rui Rebelo, Pedro Ribeiro, Parisa Sadeghi, José Soeiro, Miguel Gomes and Américo Azevedo of the Centre for Enterprise Systems Engineering (CESE).

INESC TEC, January 2015