The European project REMAIN has brought sustainable innovation in footwear remanufacturing to the Futurmoda trade fair, an international event that, on March 12 and 13, gathered more than 7.000 visitors and over 300 exhibiting companies from Spain, Italy, Portugal, France, and other countries.
As part of Futurmoda’s expert panel, the event “Meeting for the Evolution of Footwear: Remanufacturing, Challenges, and Alliances in the Sector” was held. This included the presentation “REMAIN: Sustainable Innovation in Footwear Remanufacturing,” featuring representatives from FICE and Inescop, two entities involved in the European REMAIN project.
The session began with remarks from Julia Villaplana, European Projects Manager at the Federation of Spanish Footwear Industries (FICE), who emphasized that the REMAIN project aims to “develop new tools to detect damage in used products and create a multi-robot system capable of disassembling and preparing them for reintroduction into manufacturing chains.”
Villaplana’s speech paved the way for María Dolores Fabregat, Head of Automation and Robotics at Inescop, who delivered the presentation titled “REMAIN: Sustainable Innovation in Footwear Remanufacturing.” According to the expert, “less than 5% of discarded shoes worldwide are recycled,” highlighting the urgent need for sustainable solutions in the industry.
The implementation of the REMAIN project will enable advancements in the application and development of technologies related to artificial intelligence, advanced sensors, 3D vision, and collaborative robotics through multi-robot systems that “are capable of handling deformable objects with precision and safety,” as explained by the Head of Automation and Robotics at Inescop.
Among the key milestones to be achieved, as Fabregat outlined in her presentation, is “the creation of a demonstrator for damage detection in products and a global demonstrator, which will feature a complete robotic cell integrating defect detection and disassembly strategies.”
Additionally, the project includes the development of an eco-design guide containing guidelines for designing products that facilitate repair and remanufacturing, and, in the final stage of a product’s life cycle, recycling. Furthermore, technology transfer will be promoted to encourage the adoption of the developed solutions by companies in the sector, with the potential to expand these innovations to other industries.
Project Partners
The REMAIN project is led by INESCOP – the Spanish Footwear Technology Center – and involves the Federation of Spanish Footwear Industries (FICE), AIDA CCI, the Universities of Alicante, Clermont Auvergne INP, Coimbra, and Zaragoza, as well as the Spanish company Automática y Control Numérico S.L, the French company SMA-RTY, and the social association Proyecto Lázaro as a collaborating entity.
Additionally, REMAIN is part of the Interreg Sudoe program, the Territorial Cooperation Program for the Southwestern European Area, which supports regional development through the co-financing of transnational projects via the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
