Footcare product dispensing kiosk

Abstract

A kiosk apparatus that may select for a person a recommended footcare product based on pressure measurements collected from pressures sensors or calculated biomechanical data estimates. Pressure measurements and calculated biomechanical data estimates may be used to determine if a foot is unshod on the pressure sensor and also group a person into a classified subgroup. The pressure measurement and calculated biomechanical data estimates may also be used to select a recommended footcare product.

1 . A point-of-sale system for selecting pre-manufactured orthotics, comprising:
 a set of pre-manufactured orthotics of different types;   a measurement system configured to obtain measurements from a person's feet, wherein said measurement system comprises a plurality of pressure sensors; and a processor configured to receive the measurements, determine biomechanical data for the person's feet based at least in part on the received measurements, compare the biomechanical data with values from a decision matrix of orthotics and classified subgroups, classify the person into a plurality of subgroups within the decision matrix based on the comparison, and to recommend an orthotic to the person from the set of pre-manufactured orthotics based at least in part on the classification.   
     
     
         2 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the biomechanical data is selected from the group consisting of foot length, foot width, body weight, arch index, outline of the foot and toeline, a peak pressure map, a longitudinal line drawn on a peak pressure map, and an intersection of a longitudinal line and a foot body. 
     
     
         3 . A point-of-sale system for selecting pre-manufactured orthotics, comprising:
 an apparatus, comprising: a surface, wherein the surface is configured to allow a person to stand upon the surface;
 a plurality of pressure sensors located under the surface; 
 a processor in communication with the plurality of pressure sensors, the processor configured to receive a plurality of pressure measurements from at least a subset of the plurality of pressure sensors while the person stands upon the surface, the processor configured to take quasi-dynamic pressure measurements and determine an arch index while the person stands on one foot, the processor further configured to select a recommended product for a foot from among a set of pre-manufactured candidate products for feet based at least in part upon the plurality of pressure measurements; and an output device to display information received from the processor, the information identifying the recommended product to the person.