The MIRDC achieved outstanding results in implementing “The Program of Promoting Innovation and Value-added Integration for Local Industries” of the Department of Industrial Technology, MOEA. Of which, the Intelligent 3D Visual Automation for Shoes Roughing and Cementing Equipment won the Edison Awards-Bronze Award, which is like the Oscars for innovation, on April 4, 2019. Chen-Chang Chiu, Deputy Director of the Energy and Agile System Department, received the award on behalf of MIRDC, and won the honor with other internationally renowned companies who won the award. The Edison Awards was first established in 1987 by the American Marketing Association and is an important award for the most innovative products and services in the world. After passing the rigorous review, the award-winning products or services will only be awarded after voting by more than 3,000 international professional judges. The award is not only an honor, but is also indicative of a cutting-edge trend.
Chen-Chang Chiu, Deputy Director of MIRDC, explained that this award-winning technology is a combination of fully automated equipment technology and process, intelligent robot arm, and 3D visual image trajectory identification to develop an automatic trajectory and specific area cementing equipment to quickly generate the method for roughing the surface of the shoe and use the movement path of the cementing robot arm, averagely shortening more than 12-second processing time for a pair of shoes using the original manual method to 6 seconds, more than doubling the efficiency. Also, for the precise cement spraying for shoe accessories, the introduction of automation to each production line can save about NT$3 million in labor costs and will significantly increase production. The technology is also recognized by the judges for promoting a clean and healthy labor environment.
In the past, the footwear industry was generally considered to be an industry with low technical barriers and labor intensiveness. Especially in the important process of shoe-forming, the roughing and cementing of outsoles, it is necessary to rely on a large number of people for manual roughing and cementing to complete the bonding process; faced with the problems of different material hardness, different sizes, and large variations, the relatively uniform cementing requirement is rather important. Moreover, the problem of inhaling harmful volatile substances during manual work is also an urgent need for improvement in the footwear industry. The Intelligent 3D Visual Automation for Shoes Roughing and Cementing Equipment developed by the MIRDC team will be used to replace the traditional manual roughing and cementing process, and improve the working environment of the shoe industry by reducing the damage of dust and chemicals to the human body.
Dr. Chiu-Feng Lin, President of MIRDC, said that the MIRDC proactively assists Taiwan traditional industries to break through the technical bottlenecks and move toward high-value products. In addition to integrating the equipment systems and shoe manufacturers, automation equipment was introduced into the footwear industry. The technology for integrating 3D vision, robot arm, and force compensation technology that has overcome the technical bottleneck of shoe-making roughing process automation, reproduced the art of an old master roughing, and can automatically generate the upper sole and outsole trajectory via intelligent 3D visual image recognition technology to complete the purpose of automated cementing in specific areas has been transferred to the world's top five Taiwanese shoe factories, as well as shoe machine manufacturers, such as Ding Shen Machinery and True Ten. This technology has successfully assisted manufacturers to respond to market demand and control production speed and quality, achieving the on-demand production model of brand manufacturers.
In view of the continuous and steady growth of Taiwan footwear market, the MIRDC has identified the shoe-making technology gap, developed key equipment with innovative technology, and consistently won the favor of the international judges. In the future, with the international honors, more people will see Taiwan's research and development capabilities, which will enhance industry competitiveness and bring considerable achievements to international development.