Himax and GTS Announce 3D Vision-Assisted Smart Flexible Cementing Solution for Automation Production in Shoe Industry

Himax Technologies, Inc. and GTS Pte., Ltd., announced the release of the company’s 3D Vision-Assisted Smart Flexible Cementing Solution, a leading industrial automation production using 3D sensing technology. The 3D Vision-Assisted Smart Flexible Cementing Solution is also the first automation production line to be utilized in the shoe industry. The solution is designed to help shoe manufacturers reduce costs through improved production efficiency while at the same time increasing the quality of the glue and reducing waste. Himax’s proprietary algorithms can quickly generate the cementing trajectories for various shoe types and the solution is being evaluated by an international footwear manufacturer. We look forward to working with more shoe manufacturers in the future using our latest technology. The 3D Vision-Assisted Smart Flexible Cementing Solution will be showcased at the 2019 International Industrial Automation Exhibition, August 21 – 24 in Taipei.

Himax Technologies, Inc. is a leading supplier and fabless manufacturer of display drivers and other semiconductor products, and GTS is an innovative R&D company focusing on materials development, product design, process development, smart devices, manufacturing and business models developing. GTS is dedicated and committed to the green, environmentally-friendly and sustainable concept of the shoe industry supply chain. Evervan Group, the parent company of GTS, produces NIKE sports shoes, ADIDAS and upper, sole and materials of shoes. GTS develops the latest shoe-making technology and cooperates with international brands, such as VF Group, Puma, Miix Footwear and REZA. It also works with a wide range of partners in the mainland, such as Toread, Aokang, Xiaomi Youpin (Boutique shopping platform) and well-known automation equipment factory, Atom Lab and research institute, Hoc Lab in Europe.

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“The partnership with a leading shoe maker allows us extend the structural light 3D sensing solution from facial recognition to factory automation, opening up new growth opportunities for Industry 4.0, creating a win-win situation for factory, foundry and traditional footwear manufacturers,” said Jordan Wu, President and Chief Executive Officer of Himax Technologies. The solution is built on multi-view 3D reconstruction algorithm running on an end device developed by Himax that can cater on the customized intelligent flexible cementing system. Himax looks forward to working with more globally renowned shoe factories in the future.

” It is a great honor to collaborate with Himax and to see the most advanced 3D vision technology solve the technical difficulties of the technically irregular production of the footwear. The solution helps to not only reduce excessive amount of glue, but also optimize the time required in the oven, providing the best solution for environmental and sustainability trends in the coming years,” said by Yih-Ping Luh, Chief Executive Officer of GTS.

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In the process of shoemaking, the complete fit of shoe sole is of importance. At present, shoe factories usually use manual gluing and the fitting processes where the glue is often over-applied, causing the waste of materials, especially for advanced adhesive gluing which is costly. The need to find ways to accurately glue shoes has become an important issue for shoe manufacturers. Our 3D Vision-Assisted Smart Flexible Cementing Solution is the best solution to the long-term adhesive problem for international shoe factories.

The key features of 3D Vision-Assisted Smart Flexible Cementing Solution include:

• Visual Geometry Interpretation: With Himax’s device and 3D structured light technology, the infrared beam is used to emit the laser for object recognition, which can automatically generate the 3D geometry of the sole and quickly interpret the image.
• Smart trajectory generation and path planning for robot arm: Himax’s exclusive algorithm can automatically generates the optimal cementing trajectories without manual operation and can conform to different shoe types in the shoe industry.
• Reducing carbon emissions but with precise cementing: Can accurately calculate the thickness and the amount of glue needed, reducing the waste and inconsistency of manual glue. The uniformly thickness also help maintain consistent product quality when processing oven setting after cementing.
• Flexible manufacturing: As the current trend of the shoe industry is small but diverse, with 3D vision-assisted smart flexible cementing solution, it identifies each shoe type individually, forming a customized flow of production.
• Can process simplify but speed up calibration procedure.

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