I foresee a future where all clothes are made at home from professional designs, custom to the individual. Flip through a catalog, see something in an ad, or on the street would require nothing more than scanning a code with whatever type of portable device we will all carry. Seems sci-fi, but it is closer than ever.
Using a robotic arm designed by Moll Automatische Nahsysteme, geared towards assisting doctors during surgery, European company Leapfrog is developing a way to use it during clothing manufacturing. To make clothing, fabric needs to me positioned correctly and held just right to allow for the stitch. In many cases, making the garment by hand would be much faster than any robot. However, Leapfrog's single arm sewing robot has been shown to stitch the cloth perfectly and efficiently.
The robot here will be part of an assembly line of automated machine, in the beginning to just make a single jacket. One bot cuts the fabric, another suction transports the cut pieces to a shape changing dummy. Pins will extend to hold the fabric in place while this sewing robot comes along and handles all the seams. Although more expensive than cheap human labor, I am all for ending sweatshop and child worker abuse.
Eavesdropper