INESCOP – Footwear Technology Center
 INESCOP is a centre for technology and innovation. Established in 1971, it currently has the legal status of a non-profit, private association of companies. It has broad experience in providing technology services, transferring knowledge and carrying out research on technical topics that are of interest to the industry.
INESCOP has cross-cutting technological capabilities that can be applied to numerous sectors, although it was originally set up and specialised for the footwear sector. To this end, it has the required means to meet scientific and technical needs of companies in the following fields: quality & comfort, healthcare technologies, Industry 4.0, advanced manufacturing, collaborative robotics, 3D design and printing, circular economy, sustainable materials, adhesives, biotechnology, nanotechnology, microencapsulation and competitive intelligence. INESCOP renders its services to over 1,000 companies every year. It also coordinates and participates in multiple regional, national and European R&D projects awarded in competitive calls. The support provided to companies is ensured by the centre’s infrastructure and equipment, but above all by its human resources. INESCOP is a leader in quality control, adhesives research and development of CAD systems for footwear and components. The centre is recognised as one of the most prestigious in the footwear sector worldwide. |
Given its close relationship to footwear companies, INESCOP will provide APRIL with the needed knowledge about insoles manipulation, with the ultimate goal of automating the process. To realize this, INESCOP will define the task and the materials used (insoles and bags), and analyse the current process, critic points, bottlenecks, etc.
INESCOP will have active role in WP6 (integration) and in WP7 during the evaluation phase. The demonstrator of INESCOP is focused on challenges of manipulation and object recognition.
INESCOP’s use case involves the packaging of different models of shoe insoles autonomously. The insoles of the shoes present a great variety of materials. The variety in the materials rigidity will challenge the system’s dexterity. In addition, many of these insoles, as well as the packaging, are transparent or reflective, posing a great challenge to the intelligent analysis of objects.
The Project Team
