Patent Publication Number: US-2020294109-A1

Title: Footcare product dispensing kiosk

Description:
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/572,290, filed Oct. 13, 2017, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to footcare products, and more specifically to providing customized footcare products to a consumer. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Conventional footcare products, such as orthotics, foot cushions, heel cups, etc., are typically sold from conventional retail displays. Although packaging may provide some guidance, customers may have to guess which products are appropriate, e.g., the customers&#39; size, foot characteristics, and other attributes. However, even if a customer were given e opportunity to try on a product, the customer may not know the best type of support or size of footcare product for their particular foot characteristics, e.g., the arch type of the customer&#39;s foot. This practice may result in the customer buying multiple products before customer finally finds a product that meets the customer&#39;s needs. 
     Custom foot-care products may also be sold to provide a customer the proper level of support. Custom footcare products that have adjustable support, still may not be of the proper size for a customer&#39;s shoes and may require significant time to determine the proper size. Some custom footcare products are made by moldable material. However, this requires time to measure the foot and then a period of time to make the orthotic. Because these orthotics are custom-made, they are typically more expensive than pre-manufactured orthotics. Also, creating a custom molded orthotic generally requires a trained professional that measures the customer and makes or orders the orthotic. 
     SUMMARY OF I INVENTION 
     According to some embodiments, a reconfigurable kiosk measures aspects of a user&#39;s foot and generates a footcare product recommendation for footcare products displayed by the kiosk. The reconfigurable design of the kiosk enables easy and inexpensive updating and enhancement of the kiosk over time. According to some embodiments, a kiosk includes reconfigurable foot mat sensor mounting that can accommodate foot mats of different sizes, allowing for foot mat designs and configurations to change over time. A system of spacers may be used to locate a foot mat within a base of the kiosk and different sizes and configurations of foot mats can be incorporated by changing spacer configuration. According to some embodiments, a kiosk includes a reconfigurable display area having multiple display mounts for mounting replaceable displays. Advertising or other product related information incorporated in a kiosk may be modified by swapping out a replaceable display with an updated display. 
     According to some embodiments, a kiosk for providing footcare product recommendations includes a base, a foot mat positioned in a recess in the base, a removable cover plate positioned over the recess for covering at least a portion of the foot mat, the cover plate comprising an opening leaving at least a portion of the foot mat uncovered, and one or more spacers located in the recess for positioning the foot mat in the recess. 
     In any of these embodiments, the foot mat may be configured to obtain pressure measurements at different points of a foot of a user. In any of these embodiments, the foot mat , comprise a sensor area for measuring a foot of a user, the opening in the cover plate may be at least large enough to leave the sensor area uncovered, and the one or more spacers may be configured to position the sensor area beneath the opening in the cover plate. 
     In any of these embodiments, the foot mat may include one or more foot shaped indicators for indicating to a user where to stand on the foot mat, the opening in the cover plate may be at least large enough to leave the one or more foot shaped indicators uncovered, and the one or more spacers may be configured to position the indicators beneath the opening in the cover plate. 
     In any of these embodiments, the one or more spacers may position the foot mat laterally within the recess. In any of these embodiments, the one or more spacers may control depth of the foot mat within the recess. In any of these embodiments, the kiosk may further include a display portion for displaying information related to footcare products. 
     In any of these embodiments, the kiosk may further include at least one processor in communication with the foot mat, the at least one processor configured to select a footcare product for a user based on measurements for the user generated by the foot mat. In any of these embodiments, the kiosk may further include an output device to display information received from the processor, including a footcare product recommendation for the user. 
     According to some embodiments, a kiosk for displaying products includes a base, a tower supported by the base, a product display portion mounted to the tower and configured for holding products, a display screen housed at least partially in an upper portion of the tower above the product display portion, and one or more display mounts extending from the tower and configured for removeably mounting replaceable displays. 
     In any of these embodiments, the base may be configured as a platform for a user to stand on. In any of these embodiments, the product display portion may include shelves for holding product. In any of these embodiments, the one or more display mounts may include a panel removeably mounted to a side of the tower and aligned with the display screen. 
     In any of these embodiments, the one or more display mounts may include a panel positioned between the product display portion and the monitor and the display panel may be angled upwardly. In any of these embodiments, the kiosk may further include a computing system located within the upper portion of the tower behind the monitor. 
     According to some embodiments, a method for updating a kiosk includes generating, by the kiosk, measurement data related to one or more physical attributes of a user via one or more sensors of the kiosk, generating, by the kiosk, a product recommendation based at least partially on the measurement data, transmitting product recommendation information and kiosk information to a server system over a network, determining a kiosk enhancement for the kiosk by analyzing at least a portion of the product recommendation information and at least a portion of the kiosk related information, and updating the kiosk with the kiosk enhancement. 
     In any of these embodiments, updating the kiosk with the kiosk enhancement ma y include modifying a display panel of the kiosk. In any of these embodiments, the product recommendation information may include user height, user weight, user age, user gender, or time of recommendation generation. In any of these embodiments, the kiosk information may include a kiosk identifier or a kiosk location. In any of these embodiments, the kiosk may include a display monitor and the kiosk enhancement may include a change to a graphical user interface displayed on the display monitor. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1A  is a front perspective view of a kiosk, according to some embodiments; 
         FIG. 1B  is a rear perspective view of the kiosk of  FIG. 1A ; 
         FIG. 1C  illustrates the removal of an interactive display, according to some embodiments; 
         FIG. 1D  is a rear view of an interactive display module illustrating the mounting of electronic components, according to some embodiments; 
         FIG. 1E  illustrates the integration of a foot mat in the base of a kiosk, according to some embodiments; 
         FIG. 1F  illustrates the base of a kiosk with the cover plate removed showing a foot mat and spacer system, according to some embodiments; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a block diagram of an example system for generating a footcare product recommendation, according to some embodiments; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a block diagram of an example computing apparatus for generating an orthotic product recommendation, according to some embodiments; and 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method for updating a product recommendation kiosk, according to some embodiments. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
     Described herein are systems and methods for providing product recommendations with reconfigurable kiosks that can be easily and inexpensively upgraded, updated, and enhanced over time. The kiosks may generate and collect information about a user, determine product recommendations based on the information, and provide the recommendation to the user, helping the user select from among a range of products displayed or dispensed by the kiosk. The kiosks may include one or more sensing and computing systems for generating the product recommendation and one or more displays for advertising and communicating with the user during the recommendation process. The kiosks incorporate these sensing and computing systems and displays in a reconfigurable manner so that the systems and displays can be updated. Kiosks may be updated for various reasons, including to upgrade the sensing and computing technology and to enhance the user experience through improved displays. 
     In some embodiments, data generated by kiosks may be used to reconfigure the kiosk. Data generated during the recommendation process may be collected by a server system and analyzed to determine kiosk enhancements that may improve the user experience and, ultimately, product sales. The analysis may result in new displays that can be easily and inexpensively incorporated into kiosks already in the field. Alternatively or additionally, sensing and/or computing technology of a kiosk can be modified based on analysis of collected data and/or a graphical user interface that guides the user through the recommendation process may be modified. 
     According to some embodiments, kiosks are configured for sale of orthotics such as footcare products. Footcare products may be placed inside footwear products to provide support, cushioning, to improve fit or comfort, etc. Examples of footcare products include orthotics, insoles, foot cushions, heel cups, etc. Examples of footwear products include sneakers, loafers, dress shoes, high heels, etc. A person may want to quickly and accurately determine the proper footcare or footwear product for his or her feet from an available range of products. For example, a product may need to have the proper support, size, arch support, and be able to support the person&#39;s body weight. Retailers would also want to be able to provide this service to people without having to staff a person that has specialized training and/or knowledge of all possible products, footcare or footwear, and foot types. 
     According to some embodiments, a kiosk measures a user&#39;s feet and determines a recommended footcare product for the user and the recommended product may be dispensed or may be selected by the person from a display on or near the kiosk. The measurements may be taken with a foot mat having pressure sensors to measure a user&#39;s feet. A processor may correlate footcare products to the user&#39;s foot measurements. In one example embodiment, the kiosk may contain a display monitor that provides instructions to the user and provides the user with an indicia of the recommended footcare product, such as a picture of the footcare product, the model number of the footcare product, a color or symbol, etc. The person may then easily locate the footcare product that will provide the best calculated fit and support for the user&#39;s needs. Alternatively, products may be dispensed from a kiosk, for example, the kiosk may be configured as a vending machine. The footcare product sold may be a pre-manufactured orthotic, and the set of candidate footcare products may be a set of different models of pre-manufactured orthotics of varying attributes, such as size, arch support levels, arch index, cushioning levels (i.e. foam density, cushioning material used, etc.), etc. The range of models provided may be chosen to address the most common conditions needing a footcare product, while coming in a range of sizes and models needed to fit and provide an appropriate support level for the vast majority of the potential user population. 
     In the following description of the disclosure and embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which are shown, by way of illustration, specific embodiments that can be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments and examples can be practiced, and changes can be made, without departing from the scope of the disclosure. 
     In addition, it is also to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” used in the following description are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It is also to be understood that the term “and/or,” as used herein, refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It is further to be understood that the terms “includes, “including,” “comprises,” and/or “comprising,” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or units, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, units, and/or groups thereof. 
       FIG. 1A  illustrates footcare product dispensing kiosk  100 , according to one embodiment. Kiosk  100  may generate a recommendation for a footcare product for the user based on one or more attributes of the user. The recommended product may be a pre-manufactured orthotic selected from among a set of candidate products. The set of candidate products may be a set of different models of pre-manufactured orthotics of varying attributes, such as type of orthotic product, size, arch support levels, arch index, cushioning levels (e.g., foam density, cushioning material used, etc.), etc. The range of models provided may be chosen to address common conditions needing an orthotic product, and in range of sizes and models needed to fit and provide an appropriate support level for the potential user population. The kiosk  100  is designed for reconfigurability to allow for easy and inexpensive updating of displays and recommendation system components. 
     Kiosk  100  includes a base  102  and a tower  104 . The base  102  is locatable on a floor surface and provides a platform  107  on which a user can stand. A foot mat  108  is provided in the base  102  for measuring attributes of a user&#39;s foot as the user stands on the platform. The measurements are used to generate a recommendation for a footcare product best suited to the user. The tower  104  includes an interactive electronic display  122  for communicating with the user during the recommendation process and one or more display areas for displaying products, providing advertising, providing product information, or for any other purpose that may enhance the user&#39;s experience and/or guide a user through a recommendation process. 
     Tower  104  includes three primary display sections first display section  110 , second display section  112 , and third display section  114 . However, it will be appreciated that any number of display sections organized in any suitable manner may be provided. The first display section  110  may be used for mounting a plurality of product display shelves  116 . A set of candidate footcare products, such as orthotics, may be displayed on display shelves  116  to enable a user to quickly and easily obtain the footcare product recommended by the kiosk. Product may be organized in any suitable manner in the product display shelves  116 . For example, footcare product may be organized by product style and by size. Display shelves  116  may be mounted on a panel  117  that can be configured to accommodate more than one arrangement of shelving. The panel  117  may be removably mounted to a central column  128  of the tower  104  allowing for the panel  117  to be easily removed and replaced with a panel of different configuration for updating the first display section  110 . 
     Second display section  112  includes a dashboard  118  that may be used to mount various product related displays such as graphics and product samples. The dashboard  118  may be angled upward to orient mounted displays toward the eyes of a user standing on the platform  107  of the kiosk. The dashboard  118  may include one or more replaceable displays  134  that are removably mounted to a mounting panel  136  or any other suitable feature, allowing for the second display section to be updated by replacing a mounted display with an updated display. In some embodiments, the dashboard  118  includes one or more product samples  119  that may be affixed to the dashboard to enable a user to interact with the product before purchase. The dashboard  118  may be positioned at the height of a typical user&#39;s waist to provide a user easy access to the displays and/or product mounted on the dashboard  118  and to signal to the user that the display is intended to be interactive. The dashboard  118  may be mounted to the same panel  117  as the display shelves  116  or to a separate panel. 
     In some embodiments, one or more handles  120  may be located in the second display section  112  to aid a user in balancing on the platform, such as during foot measurement. For example, a user may grip the handles and lean forward during a measurement sequence. Handles  120  may be vertically oriented, as shown, or may be horizontally oriented and positioned above or below the dashboard  118 . In some embodiments, one or more handles  120  are integrated into the dashboard. In some embodiments, the handles are mounted on panel  117  and, in other embodiments, the handles are mounted on a separate panel or directly to central column  128 . In some embodiments, the handles are incorporated into one or more brackets that are mounted to the central column  128  or a panel (such as panel  117 ) and the dashboard  118  is mounted on a portion of the brackets. 
     The third display section  114  includes one or more interactive electronic displays  122 . The interactive display  122  may include a display monitor for displaying a graphical user interface. The interactive display  122  may provide on-screen step-by-step instructions that guide a user through the product recommendation process and may provide an indication of the recommendation to the user on the display  122  at the conclusion of the process. In some embodiments, the interactive display  122  is a touch screen monitor, providing user input capability. The interactive display  122  may be located at a suitable location relative to a user standing on the platform of  107  of the kiosk  100 , such as at or near eye level of an average user. 
     One or more updatable displays  124  may also be provided in the third display section  114 . In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 1A , an updatable display  124  is provided on the right and left sides of the interactive electronic display  122 . Each updatable display  124  may include a mounting portion  126  and a display portion  125 . The display portion  125  may be a panel or other substrate with printed graphics or other medium that can be mounted to the mounting portion  126 , such as on bosses or standoffs. The mounting portion  126  may be a panel, a bracket, or any other suitable support for the display portion. An updatable display  124  can be updated by replacing the display portion  125  with a display portion having different graphics or other form of display without replacing or modifying the mounting portion  126 . In some embodiments, the mounting portion  126  may also be replaced to accommodate a display portion of a different size or shape. The mounting portion  126  may be affixed to the central column  128 , for example, with brackets or any other suitable mounting means. 
     Kiosk  100  may be easily and inexpensively updated by simply replacing one or more updatable displays  124  or one or more display portions  125  of the updatable displays  124 . In some embodiments, one or more of the updatable displays  124  includes an electronic display, which can allow for updating of the kiosk via software updates for the software controlling the graphic display by the electronic display. Although illustrated in  FIG. 1  A as rectangular, the updatable displays  124  can be any suitable shape and any suitable size. In some embodiments, one or more updatable display  124  is sized to accommodate the same size of monitor as provided in the interactive electronic display  122 . 
       FIG. 1B  is a rear view of kiosk  100 , according to some embodiments. As described above, the tower  104  includes a central column  128  that provides mounting locations for the display sections. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the mounting panel  117  of the first display section  110  mounts to a forward facing side of the central column  128  and the mounting portions  126  of the updatable displays  124  are mounted via brackets to the sides of the central column  128 . 
     The central column  128  may serve as a housing for electronics, such as computing and communications equipment for generating product recommendations. Central column  128  may form a raceway for routing wiring such as power cords and sensor mat wiring from the base to computing components in the central column  128 , such as to an interactive display  122 . A cover panel  130  may be provided on the rear of the central column  128  and may be removable to provide easy access to the wiring and/or electronics housed within. In some embodiments, a base of the central column  128  may house electronics such as computing equipment. In some embodiments, electronics housed in the base may be accessed by removing the cover panel  130 . In some embodiments, a removable cover panel is provided on a front of the base of the column (facing the user) for accessing electronics housed in the base. Housing at least some of the electronics in the base of the central column  128  may be beneficial in reducing the amount of space required for electronics housed in other portions of the kiosk such as behind the display  122 , as discussed further below. 
       FIG. 1C  illustrates the mounting of interactive display  122  to the central column  128 , according to one embodiment. The interactive display  122  may be received in an opening in the front side of the central column  128 . In some embodiments, the interactive display is configured as a modular unit with computing hardware mounted on a rear side and a display screen mounted on the front side. 
       FIG. 1D  is a rear view of an exemplary modular unit  150  that incorporates an exemplary interactive display  122  with computing components for the kiosk  100 . The interactive display  122  is provided on a front side of the modular unit  150  and computing components, such as a computer  152 , modem  154 , and power packs  156 , are provided on a rear side. In some embodiments, incorporating computing and communication hardware right behind the display screen as a modular unit, rather than, for example, in lower portions of the central column or in the base of the kiosk, more space along the tower  104  is made available for displays and/or product shelving. In other embodiments, including at least some computing and communication hardware in the base of the central column  128  provides more space in the interactive display area that can be utilized, for example, for more product-related display and/or a larger monitor. Wiring such as power supply cabling for providing power to the computing system of the kiosk and wiring from one or more sensors in the base  102  of the kiosk may be routed to the computing components in the modular unit  150  through central column  128 . 
     The base  102  of the kiosk  100  may also include reconfigurable features that can accommodate updating of the kiosk  100  over time. According to some embodiments, base  102  houses a foot mat  108 , which may include one or more sensors for measuring attributes of a user&#39;s foot. As shown in  FIG. 1E , the base may include a recess  138  in which the foot mat  108  is positioned. A top plate  140  may be placed above the foot mat  108  and removably fastened to the base  102 . Top plate  140  may include a cutout  141  configured to leave the sensor area of the foot mat  108  uncovered. In some embodiments, the foot mat  108  includes one or more foot placement indicators  109  (e.g., foot prints) for indicating to a user where to stand for measurement. 
     Located within the recess  138  is a spacer system  142  that is configured to position the foot mat  108  within the base  102 . The spacer system  142  may be reconfigured to accommodate foot mats of different sizes and shapes, allowing the same kiosk  100  to be used with multiple foot mat designs. The spacer system  142  includes one or more spacers sized to fit within the side walls of the base  102  and sized to fit the configuration of the foot mat  108 . Different sized and shaped spacers can be used to accommodate different size foot mats so that the same kiosk can incorporate foot mat of different configurations. The spacer system may locate the foot mat  108  laterally side-to-side and/or front-to-back within the recess  138  in the base  102 , which may ensure that the sensor portion of the foot mat  108  is entirely or at least partially within the cutout  141  of the top plate  140  or to ensure that the foot placement indicators  109  are located within the cutout  141 . In some embodiments, one or more spacers may be included beneath the foot mat  108  to control the depth positioning of the foot mat  108  within the recess  138  allowing for foot mats of different thickness. 
       FIG. 1F  illustrates an exemplary spacer system  142  and foot mat  108  positioned within base  102 . In the illustrated embodiment, the spacer system  142  includes two L-shaped spacers  142   a,b  that extend along the sides of a recess in the base  102  and register against the four sides of the recess of the base  102 . In the illustrated embodiments, the spacers position the foot mat  108  centrally within the recess of the base  102 . It will be appreciated that a spacer system can include any suitable number, shape, and dimensions of spacers to accommodate various foot mat configurations. For example, in some embodiments a spacer may be configured as a single piece with a cutout sized for a foot mat. Spacers may be formed of any suitable material or combination of materials, including any suitable plastics and metals. In some embodiments, spacers are made of wood or a wood product such as particle board or fiber board. Spacers may be positioned in the base  102  with or without fasteners. In some embodiments, one or more spacers are configured to register to the sides of the recess  138  such that the spacers cannot move laterally, allowing for the spacers to be positioned without fasteners. This may increase the ease with which the spacers can be replaced to accommodate different foot mat configurations. 
     With the spacer system  142  and foot mat  108  in place, the top plate  140  is placed on top of the foot mat and spacer system. The cutout  141  in the top plate  140  may enable the user to stand directly on the sensor area of the foot mat  108 . The cutout can be configured in any suitable way to accommodate the sensor area of a particular foot mat configuration. n some embodiments, one or more spacers of the spacer system  142  provides sufficient support for the top plate  140  and/or foot mat  108  to accommodate a user standing on the tope plate  142 . Foot mats of varying configuration can be accommodated in the kiosk  100  simply by replacing one or more spacers of the spacer system and/or the top plate. 
     The foot mat  108  may include one or more pressure sensors for measuring pressure applied by the user&#39;s feet. Examples of foot mats that may be used according to some embodiments are provided in U.S. Pat. No. 8,117,922, “Footcare Product Dispensing Kiosk,” the entire contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. The foot mat  108  may have an outline of feet or a depressed area for the feet to advantageously constrict a position of the user so that the measurement data is accurate. The foot mat  108  may include an array of pressure sensors made from pressure sensitive conductive inks, such as sensors from Tekscan, Inc. (307 West First Street, South Boston, Mass. 02127-1309, USA), and/or sensors described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,989,700 and 6,964,205. Other measurement technologies may also be employed, such as force plates, piezoelectric sensors, digital air pressure sensors, optical measurements, gauges, thermal sensors, etc. 
     The foot mat  108  may be arranged to obtain pressure measurements at different points of a user&#39;s foot. For example, the pressure sensors may be arranged as a 2-D grid or a 3-D grid of multiple sensor layers that may provide the measurements needed to provide an accurate pressure map of the foot. The sensor area of the foot mat  108  may vary depending on the target population. For example, an example embodiment of the kiosk  100  may contain pressure pads underlying the feet that are capable of measuring children to adults, and the pads may be large enough to capture the foot area of an adult. 
     Kiosks, according to various embodiments, may incorporate any number of sensors for measuring aspects of a user. For example, an imaging sensor may be included for imaging a user&#39;s feet, ankles, knees, whole body, face, or any other attribute of the user. Sensors may be located in the base  102  or in the tower  104 . For example, an imaging sensor may be located in a lower portion of the tower  104  for imaging aspects of the user&#39;s lower leg and/or feet or may be located in an upper portion of the tower to image the whole body or the face. 
     Kiosk  100  may include other features such as one or more guide pillars  106  that may extend from the base  102  for guiding a user onto the platform  107 . In some embodiments, guide pillars  106  may be configured as handles that a user can grasp for support while on the platform. 
     In some embodiments, a consumables dispenser  132  that may be included to provide users with, for example, sanitary wipes for wiping down surfaces of the kiosk or disposable sock that a user may wear when standing on the platform. The consumables dispenser  132  may be located behind the dashboard  118 , utilizing space provided by the angled positioning of the dashboard  118 . However, it should be appreciated that the consumables dispenser  132  may be located in any suitable location on the kiosk  100 . In some embodiments, a mount is provided behind the dashboard for an off-the-shelf consumable dispenser, such as a sanitary wipe dispenser, enabling easy refilling. In some embodiments, a trashcan  136  may be provided, for example, on the base  102 , for disposing consumables. 
     Footcare Product Recommendation System 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a block diagram of an example system  200  that generates product recommendations for users. The illustrated system  200  includes a kiosk server  201 , a kiosk  206 , a third-party server  210 , and a network  205 . 
     The kiosk server  201  may include a processor, a memory, and network communication capabilities. In some embodiments, the server  201  is a hardware server. The server  201  is communicatively coupled to the network  205  via signal line  202 . Signal line  202  may be a wired connection, such as Ethernet, coaxial cable, fiber-optic cable, etc., or a wireless connection, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, or others wireless technology. 
     In some embodiments, the kiosk server  201  communicates with the kiosk  206  via the network  205 . The kiosk server  201  may include one or ore kiosk server applications  203   a  and a database  299 . The kiosk server application  203   a  may communicate with one or more kiosk applications  203   b  running on the kiosk  206 . For example, the kiosk server application  203   a  may receive product recommendation related information and/or kiosk related information from the kiosk application  203   b.  The kiosk server application  203   a  may also transmit information to the kiosk application  203   b  running on the kiosk  206 . For example, the kiosk server application  203   a  may push updates to the kiosk application  203   b  or command a restart of the kiosk and/or kiosk application  203   b.    
     The one or more kiosk applications  203   b  may be code and routines configured to generate a product recommendation for a user  225 . In some embodiments, the kiosk application  203   b  may be implemented using hardware including a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). In some embodiments, the kiosk application  203   b  may be implemented using a combination of hardware and software. In the illustrated embodiment, the kiosk  206  is coupled to the network  205  via signal line  208 . Signal line  208  may be a wired connection, such as Ethernet, coaxial cable, fiber-optic cable, etc., or a wireless connection, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, or other wireless technology. While  FIG. 1  illustrates one kiosk  100  and one user  225 , embodiments may include any number of kiosks  206  providing recommendation to any number of users  225 . 
     The third-party server  210  may include a processor, a memory, and network communication capabilities. The third-party server  210  may be configured to send data to and from the kiosk  206  and/or the kiosk server  201 . For example, the third-party server  210  may include an application configured to determine a stock of footcare products in one or more physical stores or other kiosks  206 . In another example, the third-party server  210  may include an application configured to order a custom-made footcare product for the user  225 . The third-party server  210  may communicate with the network  205  via signal line  204 . 
     In some embodiments, a third-party server  210  provides a customer relationship management (CRM) platform for analyzing data related to kiosks and the products recommended by the kiosks. Data gathered from kiosks  206  may be provided to a CRM platform for analysis, either directly from each kiosk  206  or via kiosk server  201 . CRM platform may gather and compile data such as product sales information from, for example, retail stores or the product manufacturer. The CRM platform may apply techniques such as data mining, correlation, and pattern recognition to analyze the data for determining possible kiosk enhancements that may improve the customer experience and result in increased sales. 
     In the illustrated implementation, components of the system  200  may be communicatively coupled via a network  205 . The network  205  may include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) (e.g., the Internet), and/or other interconnected data paths across which multiple devices may communicate. In some embodiments, the network  205  may be a peer-to-peer network. The network  205  may also be coupled to or include portions of a telecommunications network for sending data in a variety of different communication protocols, in some embodiments, the network  205  includes Bluetooth® communication networks or a cellular communications network for sending and receiving data including via short messaging service (SMS), multimedia messaging service (MMS), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), direct data connection, wireless application protocol (WAP), email, etc. Although  FIG. 2  illustrates one network  205  coupled to the kiosk  206 , the kiosk server  201 , and the third-party server  210 , in practice one or more networks  205  may be coupled to these entities. 
     In some embodiments, the footcare product recommendation system  200  is configured to provide a custom footcare product to a user based on measurements of the user&#39;s foot that are collected at a kiosk, such as kiosk  100 . Information about a user that is collected by a kiosk may be provided to a custom footcare product platform (e.g., running on a server in communication with the kiosk) that is configured to generate a custom footcare product design that is specific to the user and designed based on the information about the user collected by the kiosk, including user foot mapping, user biographics, and/or any other information generated or collected by the kiosk. The custom footcare product design may then be manufactured specifically for the user and delivered to the user. For example, the custom footcare product may be manufactured in a custom footcare product manufacturing facility and then shipped from the facility to the user&#39;s home based on user address information collected from the user at the kiosk. 
     In some embodiments, some or all of the custom footcare product may be 3D printed based on foot mapping measurements taken by the kiosk. Other user information such as gender, age, and weight may be used by the custom footcare product platform to design the custom footcare product. In some embodiments, the custom footcare product may be an assembly of pre-made components. For example, a custom footcare product for a user may be assembled from a pre-formed base that may be selected based on one or more of the user&#39;s attributes, from a pre-formed arch shell that may be selected based on one or more of the user&#39;s attributes, and/or from a pre-formed heel cup that may be selected based on one or more of the user&#39;s attributes. Thus, though some or all of the individual components may not be custom, the combination of the selected component results in a custom footcare product that is tailored to the user. 
     Example Computing Device 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a block diagram of an example computing apparatus  300  for generating a footcare product recommendation. The computing apparatus  300  may he incorporated in a kiosk such as kiosk  100  and kiosk  206 . The computing apparatus  300  may include a processor  335 , a memory  337 , a communication unit  339 , one or more sensors  327 , a display monitor  325 , and a storage device  343 . The components of the computing apparatus  300  may be communicatively coupled by a bus  320 . 
     The processor  335  may include an arithmetic logic unit, a microprocessor, a general purpose controller or some other processor array to perform computations and provide instructions to a display device. Processor  335  processes data and may include various computing architectures including a complex instruction set computer (CISC) architecture, a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) architecture, or an architecture implementing a combination of instruction sets. Although  FIG. 3  includes a single processor  335 , multiple processors  235  may be included. Other processors, operating systems, sensors, displays and physical configurations may be part of the computing apparatus  300 . The processor  335  is coupled to the bus  320  for communication with the other components via signal line  322 . 
     The memory  337  stores instructions that may be executed by the processor  335  and/or data. The instructions may include code for performing the techniques described herein. The memory  337  may be a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) device, a static RAM, or some other memory device. In some embodiments, the memory  337  also includes a nonvolatile memory, such as a (SRAM) device or flash memory, or similar permanent storage device and media including a hard disk drive, a solid state drive, a flash memory device, or some other mass storage device for storing information on a more permanent basis. The memory  337  includes code and routines configured to execute the kiosk application  303 . The memory  337  is coupled to the bus  320  for communication with the other components via signal line  324 . 
     The communication unit  339  transmits and receives data to and from the network. In some embodiments, the communication unit  339  includes a port for direct physical connection to a network such as network  205  or to another communication channel. In some embodiments, the communication unit  339  includes a wireless transceiver for connecting to the network, using one or more wireless communication methods, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, or other wireless technology. The communication unit  339  is coupled to the bus  320  for communication with the other components via signal line  326 . 
     In some embodiments, the communication unit  339  includes a cellular communications transceiver for sending and receiving data over a cellular communications network including via short messaging service (SMS), multimedia messaging service (MMS), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), direct data connection, WAP, e-mail or another suitable type of electronic communication. In some embodiments, the communication unit  339  includes a wired port and a wireless transceiver. The communication unit  339  may provide other conventional connections to the network for distribution of files and/or media objects using standard network protocols including, but not limited to, UDP, TCP/IP, HTTP, SMTP, SPICY, QUIC, etc. 
     The one or more sensors  327  may include pressure sensors incorporated in a foot mat of a kiosk for measuring the contours of a user&#39;s foot, such as foot mat  108  of kiosk  100 . Any other suitable sensors may be included, such as imaging sensors, heartrate monitors, weight scales, and temperature sensors. The sensors  327  are coupled to the bus  320  via signal line  328 . 
     The display monitor  325  may include hardware configured to display graphical data. For example, the display monitor  325  may render graphics to display a user interface that is configured to display a product recommendation. The display monitor  325  is coupled to the bus  320  for communication with the other components via signal line  330 . 
     Other hardware components that provide information to a user may be included as part of the computing apparatus  300 . For example, the computing apparatus  300  may include a speaker for audio interfaces or other types of non-display output devices. The computing apparatus may include any suitable input feature, such as a touchscreen monitor, voice recognition, a mouse, a keyboard, or a remote control. 
     The storage device  343  may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores data that provides the functionality described herein. The storage device  343  may be a DRAM device, a SRAM device, flash memory or some other memory device. In some embodiments, the storage device  343  also includes a non-volatile memory or similar permanent storage device and media including a hard disk drive, a floppy disk drive, a CD-ROM device, a DVD-ROM device, a DVD-RAM device, a DVD-RW device, a flash memory device, or some other mass storage device for storing information on a permanent basis. The storage device  343  is coupled to the bus  320  for communication with the other components via signal line  332 . 
     The kiosk application  303  may be configured to provide information to and receive information from a user, such as through a touchscreen of the kiosk. The kiosk application  303  can be stored in the memory  337  of the computing apparatus  300  and can be accessible and executable by the processor  335 . The kiosk application  303  may generate a user interface to interact with a user, such as for guiding a user through a recommendation process and/or displaying the recommendation to the user. Kiosk application  303  may receive scan data from one or more sensors  327  and may generate a real-time image or video of the user to assist the user in proposer positioning on or relative to the kiosk. 
     Kiosk application  303  generates a product recommendation based on data received from the one or more sensors  327 . For example, kiosk application  303  may generate footcare product recommendations using methods described in described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,117,922, “Footcare Product Dispensing Kiosk.” Kiosk application  303  may store product recommendation information in storage device  343  and may periodically transmit the information to a server system, such as kiosk server  201  or third-party server  210  of system  200 . Product recommendation information that may be stored and transmitted may include user interface activity logs such as step-on logs (e.g., logs of detections of users stepping on the platform of the kiosk), pre-scan logs for information generated by the kiosk before initiation a scan of the user, foot scans, scan analyses, product recommendation logs, user interface page navigations, or any other data that is generated to the process for providing a user recommendation. 
     Kiosk application  303  may also store and transmit information related to the kiosk, such as restart logs, heartbeat logs, application open/close logs, hardware status logs (for example pressure mat diagnostics logs), or any other kiosk related data. The kiosk application  303  may transmit kiosk identifiers and/or kiosk location information. Kiosk location information can include geographic location information, information about the environment where the kiosk is located (such as a store identifier), or any other information related to where the kiosk is located. As described below, any of this information may be used to generate updates for a reconfigurable kiosk, such as kiosk  100 . 
     Kiosk Updating Method 
       FIG. 4  is a flow chart illustrating a method  400  for updating a kiosk based on usage of the kiosk. At step  402  the kiosk generates measurement data related to one or more physical attributes of a user via one or more sensors in the kiosk. For example, a foot mat located in the based on the kiosk may include one or more pressure sensors for measuring the pressure distribution over a user&#39;s foot or feet as the user stands on the foot mat. One or more kiosk applications, such as kiosk application  303  running on processor  335  of computing apparatus  300 , may direct the measurement generation process and may store measurement data generated based on the sensor measurements. For example, a pressure map of the user&#39;s feet may be generated through a scan process guided by a graphical user interface displayed on a display monitor (e.g., of interactive display  122  of kiosk  100 ) and the pressure map may be stored in storage device  343  of the kiosk. Measurement data may be generated in any suitable way with any suitable combination of sensors. For example, measurement data may be generated as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,117,922. 
     At step  404 , a product recommendation is generated by the kiosk based at least partially on the measurement data. For example, a biomechanical data estimate of the foot may be calculated using the pressure measurements and used to generate a product recommendation. The biomechanical data may be compared with values from a decision matrix of footcare products and classified subgroups for recommending a footcare product based on a user&#39;s classified subgroups. A classified subgroup may include the weight of the person, the band of the person (i.e. a band based on a person&#39;s foot length), a person&#39;s arch index, etc. For example, a footcare product recommendation may be generated as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,117,922. 
     At step  406 , product recommendation information and kiosk information is transmitted to a server system over a network. For example, kiosk application  203   b  of system  200  may direct transmission of product recommendation information and kiosk information to kiosk server  201  and/or third-party server  210 . This information may be transmitted periodically at regular or irregular intervals. For example, information may be transmitted after completion of each product recommendation process or may be transmitted on an hourly, daily, or weekly basis. Information may be transmitted during a product recommendation process. In some embodiments, transmitting information, such as user attribute measurements, during a product recommendation process may enable a server based kiosk application to participate in the recommendation process. Information transfer may be initiated by the kiosk or by a server application or by both depending on the circumstances. For example, a kiosk may be configured to transmit information such as product recommendation information after the completion of a product recommendation process and a server may be configured to request transmission of kiosk information at regular intervals. 
     Product recommendation information that may be stored and transmitted may include user interface activity logs such as step-on logs (e.g., logs of detections of users stepping on the platform of the kiosk), pre-scan logs for information generated by the kiosk before initiation a scan of the user, foot scans or other user attribute scans, scan analyses, product recommendation logs, user interface page navigations, or any other data that is generated to the process for providing a user recommendation. Product recommendation information may include user information such as user height, user weight, user age, user gender, time of recommendation generation, user contact information, or any other user-specific information generated or collected by a kiosk during a recommendation process. 
     In some embodiments, measurements generated by a kiosk may be used by a kiosk application to estimate user-specific attributes such as gender that may be included in transmitted product recommendation information. In some embodiments, users may be prompted to input user-specific information. The user may be prompted, for example, by a user interface of the kiosk, to enter height, gender, and/or age to assist in selecting a recommended product for the user. In some embodiments, the user may be offered a rebate that requires the user to input contact information such as email addresses. User identification information such as names, addresses, phone numbers, and/or email addresses may be anonymized by the kiosk before storage on the kiosk and/or before transmission to the server to protect a user&#39;s identity. For example, user identification may be reduced to a hash value or other anonymous form. 
     Kiosk information may include information that is independent of user interaction and may include information related to kiosk restarts, kiosk heartbeats, application opens/closes, hardware status such as sensor diagnostics and/or calibration, or any other kiosk related data. Kiosk information may include kiosk identifiers and/or kiosk location information, such as geographic location information and any other information related to where the kiosk is located. 
     At step  408 , a kiosk enhancement for the kiosk may be determined by analyzing at least a portion of the product recommendation information and at least a portion of the kiosk related information. As a simple example for purposes of illustrating step  408 , analysis of the data received from the kiosk may indicate that a particular kiosk is used mostly by women and an enhancement for the kiosk may be determined to be advertising targeting women. An enhancement may be an update to a physical feature of the kiosk, such as a new advertising decal for replacing existing decals on the kiosk. An enhancement could be a modification to one or more graphical user interfaces displayed on a monitor of the kiosk. 
     Enhancements may be determined using information received by the server from sources other than a kiosk. For example, product sales information for the product displayed at the kiosk may be received from a store where the kiosk is installed. Information received from other kiosks may also be used to determine an enhancement for a particular kiosk or set of kiosks. 
     According to some embodiments, kiosk enhancements are determined at least partially by providing product recommendation information and/or kiosk information to a CRM platform and receiving results of an analysis of at least some of the date from the CRM platform. For example, an CRM analysis may indicate the periods in the day and/or week during which a kiosk is most used or least used and an enhancement may be determined based at least partially on this information. A CRM platform may be operating on a kiosk management server, such as server  201  of system  200 , on a third-party server such as third-party server  210  of system  200 , or a combination thereof. 
     At step  410 , the kiosk is updated with the kiosk enhancement determined at step  408 . For example, a user interface displayed on a display monitor of the kiosk may be modified to include advertising targeting users that are determined during the analysis of the information received from the kiosk to be more likely to use the kiosk. One or more physical displays (i.e., non-electronic displays) on the kiosk may be replaced with an enhanced display. For example, analysis of information received from the kiosk may indicate that users are struggling through one or more aspects of the recommendation process and an updated instruction decal may be added to the kiosk. 
     The reconfigurability of a kiosk, such as kiosk  100 , allows for easy and inexpensive implementation of enhancements. For example, the display portions  125  of the updatable displays  124 , may be replaced with updated displays or an electronic display may replace a non-electronic display. Product shelving may be reorganized to incorporate more of a given product, for example, based on sales data and/or user information. An installed foot mat  108  may be replaced with an enhanced sensor mat of the same or different size and/or shape to generate enhanced foot scans as determined by the analysis of foot scans received from one or more kiosks. One or more computing components installed in the modular unit  150  may be easily swapped out to improve kiosk performance, based for example, on an analysis of the number of system restarts and/or network connection drops. 
     It will be appreciated that kiosk enhancements may be developed based on analysis of any combination of data generated by the kiosk and data collected from sources other than kiosk to better tailor a particular kiosk or set of kiosks to users. The reconfigurable design of kiosks according to the principles described above allow for a greater number and kind of enhancements than many existing kiosks and allow for easy and inexpensive updating of the kiosks over time with enhancements. 
     The foregoing description, for the purpose of explanation, has been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, the illustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the techniques and their practical applications. Others skilled in the art are thereby enabled to best utilize the techniques and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. 
     Although the disclosure and examples have been fully described with reference to the accompanying figures, it is to be noted that various changes and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications are to be understood as being included within the scope of the disclosure and examples as defined by the claims. Finally, the entire disclosure of the patents and publications referred to in this application are hereby incorporated herein by reference.