Robotics and Fashion Design are two industries not typically paired together. Designer Audrey-Laure Bergenthal has done just that by designing a robotic mannequin that can change size in a matter of seconds. After hearing from women who could never find clothing to fit their body type, Bergenthal set out to find a solution to this problem by innovating a new structure on which clothes are designed. The result is Euveka’s life-size robotic wonder.
Euveka’s shape-shifting mannequin is a great example of innovation that utilizes the template known as Attribute Dependency. Attribute Dependency is one of the five innovation methods of Systematic Inventive Thinking (SIT). It works by creating (or breaking) a dependency between two attributes of a product or its environment. In the case of Euveka’s mannequin, designers simply enter the needed body measurements in the accompanying app, and the mannequin changes shape within seconds.
As Alphr.com states,
The level of customization on the mannequins is truly impressive, letting designers independently tweak the height, thigh size, hip diameter, waist, chest, bust and shoulders. That means you can be designing clothes for a five-foot child one moment, and a 6’3” obese woman the next (a male version of the mannequin is in the works, apparently). It’s like a video game avatar creator come to life.
It’s true that anyone can learn to create by utilizing the SIT methods. If you would like to get the most out of the Attribute Dependency Technique, follow these steps:
- List internal/external variables.
- Pair variables (using a 2 x 2 matrix)
- Internal/internal
- Internal/external
- Create (or break) a dependency between the variables.
- Visualize the resulting virtual product.
- Identify potential user needs.
- Modify the product to improve it.
For a demonstration of Euveka’s mannequin, see the video below:
