MAXIMA is the result of research that was performed in the last three years to extend the Indo line of personalized progressive lens products (aka Eyemade), whose geometry is created based on analysis of a user's visual strategy (the way a user looks at things around him/her), and cut/polished using freeform technologies. The research was performed within the scope of Indo's Work Package in the project Made4U (FP7 Proj 212002). With MAXIMA lenses vision was further improved in terms of clarity, but also in terms of lens thickness and weight. The new lenses are specifically designed based on the frames in which they are to be mounted, and in so doing they have become much thinner and consequently a lot lighter. 

Since the recent launch of the MAXIMA line of products mainly in Iberia, Indo has sold tens of thousands of such lenses. MAXIMA lenses are distinguished with a discrete watermark that is engraved on each individual lens.

This is the first major public recognition of one of the technology innovations achieved within the objectives of Made4U. Our warmest congratulations for this achievement to Indo, its researchers and its research managers.

The goal of this conference that was aimed at the manufacturing industries, was to show availability of anthropometric data worldwide and potential uses of such data in designing innovative products and services.

Over 20 well known worldwide experts in the application of anthropometrics and ergonomics in the development of new innovative products such as cars, chairs, helmets, clothing and footwear for different population groups were present in the Conference with an audience of 85 participants from different manufacturing companies.

MADE4U project findings were presented by Begoña Mateo, researcher in the Instituto de Biomecánica de Valencia and MADE4U. Miss Mateo is WP2 leader and presented her project findings in anthropometrics and ergonomics applied in the manufacturing of personalized spectacles.

Adaptation of products and services to the dimensions and human forms is becoming a major trend in the purchasing decisions of end users. As Director of the Clothing field at IBV, Juan Carlos González, pointed out "ergonomics and comfort are the most requested features by customers. Nowadays, the global markets require knowledge of the diversity and availability of anthropometric resources, not only in our environment but also around the world." Adapted products based on anthropometric data increase end-user comfort and satisfaction and reduce the number of returns substantially. Therefore, application of anthropometry, data obtained and resulting technologies are great tools for future innovation. In addition, Gonzalez noted, "this discipline creates opportunities for new business models, such as 'customized' and 'best fit', based on anthropometric data."

Our Booth at the Industrial Technologies 2010

This was an exceptionally quite moment during regular ex-cathedra sessions, when only a handful of visitors attended to the booths.

On the contrary, the YouTube slideshow in our subsequent news posting hereunder shows some of the busy moments at our booth, with numerous genuinely interested visitors, some of them undergoing the Visual Map developer check-ups as well.

Dr. Kritis takes advantage of the crowd-less stand to check his email, unaware of the paparazzo who shot his picture at his moment of privacy. Paparazzi always do that...

We recently participated with our Project at the Industrial Technologies Conference, organized by Manufuture and the RTD Directorate of the European Commission, at the Tour and Taxis in Brussels. The conference took place from 7 to 9 of September. The short slideshow above shows shots of our booth and visitors. Our project PTA Mr. Rheinlander and our PO, Mrs Salona, also visited our booth during the first day. Moreover, we had distinguished visits by Mr von Bose, Director Industrial Technologies DG-RTD and Messrs Vallés and Tokamanis, Heads of Unit DG-RTD.

We were selected among many candidates to exhibit our project work at the Industrial Technologies Conference, to be organized at Tour et Taxis in Brussels, from 7 to 9 of September. We plan to show non-stop reels with clips and animations about our Project, to demonstrate our work in progress in the various technologies of our research.  In addition, we also plan to demo the use of a Visual Maps Analyst (courtesy of Indo Lens), a device that can be used to calculate and plot visual maps of the Conference participants visiting our stand. As described elsewhere in our News and Innovation 101 segments of our site, visual maps are color 2D plots being used to design progressive lenses adapted to an individual person's visual strategy, that is, the specific ways each one of us unconsciously uses to look at things and objects. We also plan to expose early prototypes of made4U customized spectacles (that is, laser sintered frames and inkjet tinted lenses and frames). 

Our booth presence will be managed by our WP8 leader, Dr.V.Kritis 

This Strategic Multi-annual Roadmap has been prepared by the industrial representatives in the Ad-Hoc Industrial Advisory Group for the Factories of the Future Public-Private Partnership (AIAG FoF PPP), which was created in March 2009 with the goal to help define the research content of this initiative. The present document lays out industrial research priority areas for the implementation of the FoF PPP covering the period from 2010 to 2013.

The European Technology Platform on "Future Manufacturing Technologies" (‘MANUFUTURE’) has strongly supported this process, together with its national Manufuture platforms, working groups and sub-platforms, namely Agriculture Engineering

Technologies (‘AET’), Clean Environmental Technologies (‘CET’), European Concept, Foot Wear including Sports, Micro Nano Manufacturing (‘MINAM’), Rapid Manufacturing (‘RM’) and European Tooling, following in this way a cross-sector and cross-disciplinary approach.

The preparation of this document is also based on a wider stakeholders consultation, including the input from the European Technology Platforms on Advanced Engineering Materials and Technologies (‘EuMat’), European Steel Technology Platform (‘ESTEP’), Future Textiles and Clothing (‘FTC’), Photonics21 (‘Photonics’), Sustainable Chemistry (SusChem), Food for Life (FOOD), European Robotics Technology Platform (‘EUROP’), Networked European Software and services Initiative (NESSI), European Platform on smart systems Integration (‘EPoSS’), European Nanoelectronics Initiative Advisory Council (‘ENIAC’) and Advanced Research and Technology for Embedded Intelligence and Systems (‘ARTEMIS’).

The focus of this PPP initiative is to support collaborative research projects on innovative enabling technologies of multi-sector benefit and oriented towards industrial factory application. Therefore, the research priority areas also include industrially-relevant demonstration elements especially for the benefit of SMEs, which are important stakeholders because they represent the large majority (above 90%) of manufacturing enterprises in Europe. Increased demonstration activities are foreseen towards the end of the four-year period.

Project results are expected to be implemented as improvements in production processes shortly after the conclusion of the funded projects, with commercial solutions leading to wealth creation through a competitive market position and added value generation.

NB: The full document can be downloaded in PDF format from our Downloads section