Fashion, Robots, and Travis Hiatus to Lollipuff March 24, 2013 by Travis Deyle Fits Me Robot Manequin Some people have been asking, Travis, where did you (and Hizook) disappear to? Well... Im taking a prolonged (but ultimately temporary) hiatus from robotics to co-found a new, YCombinator-funded web startup: Lollipuff -- an online auction site dedicated exclusively to womens designer clothes and accessories, where every item is authenticated by a team of experts. Surprised? Frankly, I am too. Ill explain more down below... but since this is a robotics website, I figure I have to talk about robotics too. So really, this is two blog posts in one: (1) looking at the intersection of fashion and robotics, and (2) a description of my latest endeavors. The most common fashion robots I could find were robotic mannequins. The various offerings seek to either (a) create motion to draw attention, (b) track shoppers, or (c) help online shoppers determine how a garment would fit before they buy. Im not sure how these businesses are doing fundamentally, but theyre interesting none the less. D+Ropop from Eager The D+Ropop from Eager is made up of recycled cardboard and 8 servo motors actuating the shoulders, neck, and arms. At $5500, and weighing only 13 lbs, its the most affordable and green of its class. Obviously, its a relatively low-payload solution, but it should be capable of continuously modeling 24 hours a day! cardboard actuated robot D+ropop cardboard mannequin Palette from Flower Robotics The Palette robot from Flower Robotics is yet another mannequin challenging the old ways of marketing. Its $50,000 price tag will get you a sleek modern mannequin that moves its arms and head upon detecting a possible audience. This robot has already been used for quite some time in Japan, displaying clothing and jewelry. Palette robot Flower Robotics Robot Mannequin Hiroshi Ishiguros Geminoid F Classic Hiroshi Ishiguro. The talking and singing Geminoid F ($110,000) can produce 65 different facial expressions and has been featured in a Tokyo department store window display. The Geminoid F uses rubberized material for the skin, 12 pneumatic actuators, and a Kinect system for facial recognition. This allows for human-like interaction between real humans and robots that look human. realistic robot mannequin Fits.me Robot Mannequin This last creation differs from all of the above. The company hails from Estonia, unlike all the others that are from Japan. Though it acts as a mannequin like the rest, it also tackles a very common problem: buying clothing that fits online. How is this done? The Fits.me robot provides about 2,000 different permutations or body types. With high resolution, high speed photography, each permutation is photographed. With measurements supplied from the customer, it provides information on how the clothing item will fit without actually physically trying on the garment. Fits.me hopes to increase online sales and reduce returns. Travis Taking Hiatus from Robotics as Co-Founder of Lollipuff Lollipuff: Online auctions for authentic designer clothes and accessories TL;DR: My wife enjoys high-end fashion and is an expert online authenticator for a few select brands. She got really sick of girls getting scammed by counterfeits on eBay (for some brands, >50% are fakes), so she started an online auction site dedicated to authentic high-end designer goods. I offered to help, and Lollipuff was born. We got accepted into YCombinator, and now Lollipuff is consuming all of my time. What is Lollipuff? Lollipuff is an online auction site (sorta like eBay) exclusively for designer clothes and accessories. Every item is authenticated by a team of experts so that no fakes ever appear on the site. Users buy and sell new or lightly-used items directly to each other, which results in amazing prices (up to 90% off retail). Currently, Lollipuff focuses on just three brands: Chanel (the hottest bags), Christian Louboutin (the hottest shoes), and Herve Leger (the hottest dresses). High-End Luxury Items sold on Lollipuff Im gonna be honest... This whole endeavor is a bit outside my comfort zone. But I do know one thing: my wife looks great wearing these things.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 04:20:56 +0000
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