The American startup CreateMe has introduced a robotic system for assembling clothes using adhesive technologies instead of traditional threads and needles. Now, it seems, even the garment industry, which has been clinging to manual labor for centuries, is forced to submit to automation. Although it is difficult to imagine that machines could reproduce the very "soul" that Asian seamstresses supposedly put into their work.

The system uses thermally activated glue to join fabrics, a method that CreateMe modestly calls "innovative," although any child who has glued airplane models is familiar with this principle. The robot precisely applies the adhesive composition, and then connects the parts of the clothes under pressure and heat. The manufacturer claims that the seams are stronger than traditional ones, although how they will behave after a dozen washes is a big question.

Special attention is paid to the "sustainability" of the technology. CreateMe claims that their method saves up to 30% of fabric and completely eliminates thread waste. However, they are modestly silent about the environmental friendliness of the adhesive composition itself — apparently, this is the topic for the next press release.

Interestingly, the system is positioned as a solution to the shortage of qualified seamstresses in the United States. Although, if you think about it, perhaps the reason for the shortage of personnel is precisely that salaries in the industry leave much to be desired, and not the lack of people willing to sew clothes.

The technical details make you smile: the robot uses computer vision to recognize the fabric and apply the glue accurately. It seems that determining where the seam on a T—shirt should be is a task comparable in complexity to decoding the human genome.

Critics have already noticed that adhesive technology is unlikely to be suitable for all types of fabrics. Hardly anyone wants to wear a cashmere suit glued together like a cardboard box. But the developers claim that their method is universal — apparently, they tested it exclusively on synthetic materials.

The most amusing aspect is the statement about the "democratization" of clothing production. They say the technology will allow small brands to produce products without investing in expensive equipment. Although, given the cost of CreateMe's robotic systems, it's like trying to sell a Ferrari under the guise of a people's car.

However, it cannot be denied that technology has potential, for example, for the production of workwear or uniforms, where aesthetics are not so important. The main thing is that manufacturers should not decide to glue underwear using this method — the consequences could be quite "sticky".