Between 2008 and 2012 ÓPTICA PITA was a participant on MADE 4U an international research and development project for custumized spectacles, co-funded by the European Commission within the Seventh Framework Programme. We were selected because we had the requirements needed for a project of this dimension an complexity.The project consisted in the research of the technological procedures for production and commercialization of costumizable spectacles with added value for people with visual needs and the respective business model to integrate them in the market.
The participants in this project, besides us, were small businesses like ours, larger ones, and universities from Germany, Belgium, Slovenia, France, Switzerland, the UK and Spain.
Throughout the project ÓPTICA PITA was responsible for several tasks:
- Collecting information necessary to support the project through surveys to our customers;
- Collecting dimensional data (anatomical) necessary for the production of prototypes, using specific equipment built specifically for this purpose;
- Organization of two meetings in Setúbal, attended by all members of the project;
- Participation in all follow-up meetings held in the participating countries of the project;
- Public presentation, in Barcelona, of the results obtained in the point of view of optical and end user.
The involvement of ÓPTICA PITA in this project has brought many advantages, which include: disclosure of our professional skills, both national and international, acquiring technical and staff knowledge and know how to participate in future projects.