The American footwear company, Nike, has developed an app that uses 3D scanning to recommend ideal shoe size for customers.
Nike Fit is a digital foot measuring software designed to solve the problem of choosing shoe sizes incorrectly. According to Nike, “60% of people at any given time are walking around in the wrong size shoe.”
“Half a million people complain about purchasing the wrong shoe size a year — just in North America.”
Finding the perfect fit
Last year, Nike bought the Israel-based startup Invertex. Founded in 2014, Invertex is a developer of scanning and imaging technologies for e-commerce solutions.
On acquiring Invertex, Nike Chief Digital Officer, Adam Sussman, had stated, “The acquisition of Invertex will deepen our bench of digital talent and further our capabilities in computer vision and artificial intelligence as we create the most compelling Nike consumer experience at every touch point.”
A year after the acquisition, Nike is promoting its foot scanning service. The Fit 3D scanning uses data analytics, machine learning, and AI to recommend shoe sizes. The Fit app collects thirteen data points to capture the form of the foot. These points are matched to the internal volume of shoe sizes and data purchased by Nike of different human feet. According to Nike, the FIT app can find the size, volume, and shape of the foot with an accuracy close to 2 millimeters.
Once the shoe size is picked up by the app, it provides information on why the particular size was chosen. After this, the app saves the shoe size in the user’s profile so they do not have to scan their feet again.
Moreover, the Nike Fit app can also be used in retail stores. Customers can go in the store and scan the QR code on the shoes to get ‘best fit for you’ recommendations.
For U.S customers, the Fit scanner will be available through the Nike mobile app in July. European Nike fans will have to wait till August.
Creating unique products
Developments in 3D printing technology have enabled consumer product manufacturers to provide customized solutions. Some of the products in this category are 3D printed shaving razors by Gillette and Formlabs and 3D printed ceramic jewelry.
Moreover, 3D scanning is helping companies to develop innovative solutions to age-old problems like Nike has done. Another good example of this is Dr. Scholl’s 3D printed insoles, which are made with the help of a 3D scanning app by Wiivv.
Furthermore, the American multinational HP has also invested in a 3D scanning platform for customized footwear called FitStation.
Vote now in the upcoming 2019 3D Printing Awards.
For more information on how 3D scanning is changing the manufacturing industry subscribe to our 3D printing newsletter and join us on Facebook and Twitter.
Looking for a job in additive manufacturing? Visit our 3D Printing Jobs page.
Featured image shows the interface of the Nike Fit app. Image via Nike.
