Robots R Fun–and Cute!

The logo for Fits.me’s robot mannequin fit technology

Online retail sales are on track to reach $249 billion by 2014, and apparel is expected to take up a large chunk of those sales.

The ability to search for favorite brands and styles and price shop and get opinions from others before you buy makes e-commerce a very attractive shopping option. But still the problem of fit remains. There are several technology companies looking to solve the problem of fit using everything from full-body scanning to simpler scanners that use a web cam to capture a few crucial measurements.

But a new technology developed by an Estonian entrepreneur might have a few things the others do not—a ridiculously cute icon to represent the brand and a robot mannequin.

Entrepreneur Heikki Haldre was recently interviewed on PRI’s The World radio program about his Fits.me robotic mannequin, which would allow tailors to use consumers provided measurements to create a mannequin that would mimic the consumer’s body.

The robot’s parts can create about 100,000 different body shapesand sizes, according to Haldre.

Using the Fits.me system, the consumer can see what an article of clothing would look like on his body before he clicked the “complete purchase” button.

And yes, so far, Fits.me only has a male mannequin. Although Haldre is promising a women’s mannequin by October.