When two industries come together, amazing innovations take place. The tech company 4D ShoeTech is doing just that by applying the latest technologies to their passion for footwear. In late June, the company plans to launch a digital online platform that allows users to design, develop, and view shoes.
With this platform, footwear designers and developers can bring their ideas to life, create prototypes, and display their visions in 4D, which is a photorealistic digital 3D image. They can do all of this without making a physical sample, an essential perk in the COVID-19 age. The 4D ShoeTech digital sample doesn't appear flat or static, like regular .JPEG or .PNG images do. Instead, this photo realistic 3D digitization has the ability to move or spin, as an object in animation does. By using this platform, a designer's shoes will appear life-like and viewers will be able to experience the texture of the product as if it were there in front of them.
How exactly is 4D ShoeTech creating these impressive digitizations? They've got a suite of digital solutions to help them do it. The first solution is photorealistic 3D CAD modeling. This allows designers and developers to digitally create the individual elements of a shoe, including the heels, bottoms, and outsoles. Once the elements come together, they can then sample the product as a photo realistic 4D digital sample.
The next step in the process is using 3D material swatch scanning that is platform-neutral or 3D material appearance capturing that uses X-Rite Pantone TAC7 technology. Either of these solutions can capture textures, allowing users to showcase details of their designs such as fur, embroidery, glitter, rhinestones, and embossed leather. A simple video on a website's landing page can increase conversion rates by up to 80%. 4D ShoeTech's photo realistic material capture, however, has the ability to really show viewers the product that they could be buying and could be a great asset in increasing conversion rates even further.
The suite of digital solutions from 4D ShoeTech also includes 3D printer-enabled prototyping in rigid or flexible material. Industries of all kinds have been utilizing 3D printing technology for a wide variety of reasons, creating everything from simple toys to bridges that can hold up to 250 pounds. 4D ShoeTech is using this impressive technology to allow users to 3D print and prototype outsoles, heels, bottoms, lasts, components, and accessories for their products. This saves designers and developers a lot of time and money when compared to using traditional methods of prototyping.
4D ShoeTech is envisioning its online platform to be a resource for more than just designers and developers. They are imagining this platform as a collaborative workspace for designers, developers, their partners and team members, manufacturers, sales reps, and buyers. Whoever is using this platform will be able to select a shoe and drag and drop various swatches and colors, essentially allowing them to sample different versions of a shoe without the traditional sample costs. This makes the platform a virtual showroom, replacing the sales trade shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has put on hold.
4D ShoeTech was founded in 2017, but it's already making major headway in both the tech and footwear industries. The company is not quite 5 years old yet, a landmark that only 50% of small businesses survive, but these innovations that allow operations to continue in a world that relies on remote work are a good indication that the tech company has what it takes to survive that 5-year mark. The technology from 4D ShoeTech could not only allow designers and developers to keep pursuing their creative passions, but it could allow the greater footwear market to survive this pandemic.
Category: 4D Digital Shoe Sample Studio, 4D ShoeTech, Footwear Blog, Footwear Industry, Footwear News, Shoe Blog, Shoeography, Women's Shoes
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