Nike automated sock-liner

​

Insoles of Nike running shoes had been manually mass-produced in crowded spaces by many workers simultaneously.

​

Flextronics had a vision machine for Nike facilities: to convert its manual production to a robotic one, operated and controlled by only one person.

They then turned to us at the UX department to develop an overall solution.

Development

In a physical and experiential study that we conducted, we discovered that the suggested Korean control system lacked any hierarchy, and had issues with orientation in space.

Operators had to perform many actions in order to run the robotic system, and many of them did not know English well. To meet this challenge, we developed an application in which the user experience contains elements of gamification and 3D visual data in real time.

Design

In the course of design, we chose a large vertical screen with the same orientation as the system. We characterized several layers of system control, according to user profiles (operator, shift manager, technician, etc.).

We introduced three-dimensional movements and, as fitting for a system developed for Nike, it was packaged at a high aesthetic design standard, but one that was nevertheless minimalistic and easy to understand and operate.

​

One of the dimensions of the system's success was its easy assimilation into Nike shoe production facilities worldwide.

​

The performance indicators were soon to come, and with them, success in the field.