Mobile App Controlled Machine Folds, Organizes And Selects Outfits

ThreadRobe

The future of folding and organizing clothes is here! Matt Powell, co-founder of ThreadRobe reached out to Mobomo in hopes of turning his futuristic concept into reality. Our teams collaborated around the idea of using digital technology to control an appliance that folds and organizes clothing at the touch of a fingertip. We were able to successfully design and develop the mobile app which is a key functionality in their ThreadRobe. The purpose of the mobile app is to organize and store a user’s wardrobe, but an added bonus – it has the ability to offer outfit recommendations to the user. The app collects data from the garments such as the color, fabric, and pattern that the user adds to their inventory/wardrobe. The app can then conduct outfit recommendations by the use of matching algorithms which are based on color, fabric, pattern, etc. The app then communicates with a smart wardrobe which steams and stores all clothing items, then when the user wants an outfit they use the app which connects to the automated furniture which dispenses the clothing.

Phase One:

During phase one we started the design process, or in better terms- the look and the feel for the mobile app. The challenge we faced during the design phase was creating a custom made solution (the app) for a machine that was not yet built. We wanted to make sure that the design of the app reflected the attributes and establish the right controls and functionalities to correspond with the physical machine. We were able to work closely with the ThreadRobe team to work around the barriers to create a very sleek design that parallels the brand. Once the design phase was complete we moved to the build. We built out the front-end interface and backend server for Android only. For the mobile app, our development team worked directly with ThreadRobe’s IT team to streamline communication between the app (being built by Mobomo) and the wardrobe (being built by their engineers). We worked with their team to integrate the wardrobe API’s so that it would communicate correctly with the ThreadRobe app.

Phase Two:

Phase two consisted of enhancing the mobile app by adding new features. We updated and improved on the first version, integrated the app and its backend with the wardrobe server and designed and developed their website. The main goal of their website is to leverage it for marketing and brand awareness, so during the design phase it was important to find the right balance of fashion and clothing combined with cutting edge technology and innovation.  Even though the mobile app is not yet in the app store, we wanted to give you a quick step-by-step of what the process looks like from a user perspective.

Mobile App:

1. User opens app and logs in
2. User sees a home screen with a tile layout of all actions and access to his/her wardrobe (Add Item, Select Outfit, Find Item, Favorites, etc.)
3. User selects ‘Add Item’ to add new items to the wardrobe/digital inventory — they take/upload a photo of the item and add all necessary details (size, color, pattern, fabric, brand, etc.)
4. User can select ‘Find Item’ to browse/search/dispense all items in the inventory
5. User can select ‘Select Outfit’ to see recommended outfits from the app
6. User can add items to a clipboard to mix and match their own outfits – this can be accessed by selecting ‘Clipboard’ from the home screen
7. User can click ‘Shop’ from the home screen – this lets them take a photo of a new item, enter its color/category/season/occasion, and the app will then run an algorithm to show the user which items that item could match with in his/her current inventory
8. User can save any item or outfit as a favorite, and access these by selecting ‘Favorites’ from the home screen
9. User can create packing lists by selecting ‘Pack’ from the home screen – users select a destination and can see the weather for that location, then they can select items to add to their packing list. User can then dispense the items in the list, or schedule to dispense at a certain date
10. User can schedule any item or outfit to be dispensed for a later date/time – these can be accessed by clicking ‘Calendar’ on the home screen, to see what items/outfits are scheduled to dispense when (and what/when items/outfits have been dispensed in the past)
11. User can select ‘What’s Out’ from the home screen – this lets them see what items are not currently inside the wardrobe because they have been dispensed
12. User can select ‘Stats’ from the home screen – this will let them see their most worn items/outfits, items/outfits they haven’t worn in awhile, top colors/patterns/brands
13. User can select ‘Assistant’ from the home screen – this lets them send a request for help from ThreadRobe for technical or fashion assistance

During phase one and two we used a hybrid team approach-maximizing our resources in different time zones so that their product was being worked on 24/7. Even though the app will not launch in the store until the fall, ThreadRobe’s website is live and we must say – it looks awesome!