Method and system to create custom, user-specific eyewear

1. A computer-implemented method for creating a model of an individual-specific eyewear product, using a computer system, the method comprising:

receiving, over an electronic network, and classifying one or more facial feature characteristics of users in a population of users;

storing an association between the classified one or more facial feature characteristics and at least one eyewear design attribute;

receiving, over an electronic network, or computing an individual-specific characteristic from image data of an individual outside of the population of users;

predicting an individual-specific eyewear design attribute for the individual based on the individual-specific characteristic and the stored association;

determining a first model of an eyewear product selected for the individual based on the predicted individual-specific eyewear design attribute, the first model comprising a solid model or a surface model of the eyewear product;

determining one or more configurable features of a geometry of a frame of the first model of the eyewear product;

quantifying at least a surface or a contour of an anatomic feature of the individual based on the image data of the individual;

generating a second model of the eyewear product by shaping a surface or a contour of the first model of the eyewear product to match the quantified surface or quantified contour of the anatomic feature of the individual while maintaining one or more parametric constraints on the geometry of the second model, the second model comprising a solid model or a surface model of the eyewear product; and

generating instructions for manufacturing the individual-specific eyewear product based on the second model.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the individual-specific eyewear design attribute includes: an eyewear fit, geometry, size, suggested style, aesthetic, material, shape, color, finish, width, thickness, position on the individual's face, and/or lens size; or

wherein the individual-specific eyewear design attribute or the received individual-specific characteristic are determined automatically.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the individual-specific characteristic includes characterizations of one or more anatomical parameters, preferences, aesthetic characteristics, demographics, and/or activities associated with the individual.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the one or more preferences associated with the individual include the individual's style descriptors, attire, eyewear style, eyewear material, eyewear shape, color, eyewear finish, eyewear position on the individual's face, and/or eyewear lens size;

wherein the one or more aesthetic characteristics associated with the individual include the individual's skin features, facial features, and/or hair features;

wherein the one or more demographics associated with the individual include the individual's age, gender, ethnicity, local trends, and/or occupation; and

wherein the one or more activities associated with the individual include the individual's word usage, places visited, and/or artistic preferences.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:

appending a weight, or enabling the individual to append a weight, to the individual-specific characteristic, the weight representing a significance of the individual-specific characteristic to an algorithm for predicting the individual-specific eyewear design attribute.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

generating an electronic representation of the second model in spatial relation to image information representing the individual.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the electronic representation of the second model includes an interactive user interface having one or more user elements configured to receive input from the individual, the input including the individual-specific characteristic and/or the modification to the one or more configurable features of the second model.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

generating the one or more user elements to receive input from the individual based on previously received input from the individual or input from one or more users.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

predicting the individual-specific eyewear design attribute based on data generated by expert designers or test users.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

predicting the individual-specific eyewear design attribute using a machine learning algorithm.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

updating the machine learning algorithm or training the machine learning algorithm, in real-time, based on real-time preferences received from the individual and/or users.

12. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

training the machine learning algorithm to associate eyewear design attributes and population-based user characteristics based on analyses of user images using one or more image-based characteristics or one or more image filtering techniques.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

classifying the individual into one or more groups, or the individual as having one or more demographics, based on one or more of the analyses; and

predicting the individual-specific eyewear design attribute based on the classifying.

14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

generating a look-up table to compare the individual-specific characteristic to the population-based anatomical user characteristic in order to predict the individual-specific eyewear design attribute.

15. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

ranking one or more eyewear design attributes based on predictions made from the individual-specific characteristic.

16. The method of claim 1 , further including:

importing the individual-specific characteristic from a social network, user profile, and/or advertising database information.

17. The method of claim 1 ,

machining instructions or files, a command for producing or ordering production of one or more portions of the individual-specific eyewear product, one or more prompts for machining, inspection, or quality control of the individual-specific eyewear product, or a combination thereof.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein a modification to one of the one or more configurable features is received from the individual's input of one or more fit preferences, or from one or more fit preferences inferred or extracted from one or more images of the individual.

19. A system for creating a model of an individual-specific eyewear product, the system comprising:

a data storage device storing instructions for creating the model of the individual-specific eyewear product; and

a processor configured to execute the instructions to perform a method comprising:

receiving, over an electronic network, and classifying one or more facial feature characteristics of users in a population of users;

storing an association between the classified one or more facial feature characteristics and at least one eyewear design attribute;

receiving, over an electronic network, or computing an individual-specific characteristic from image data of an individual outside of the population of users;

predicting an individual-specific eyewear design attribute for the individual based on the individual-specific characteristic and the stored association;

determining a first model of an eyewear product selected for the individual based on the predicted individual-specific eyewear design attribute, the first model comprising a solid model or a surface model of the eyewear product;

determining one or more configurable features of a geometry of a frame of the first model of the eyewear product;

quantifying at least a surface or a contour of an anatomic feature of the individual based on the image data of the individual;

generating a second model of the eyewear product by shaping a surface or a contour of the first model of the eyewear product to match the quantified surface or quantified contour of the anatomic feature of the individual while maintaining one or more parametric constraints on the geometry of the second model, the second model comprising a solid model or a surface model of the eyewear product;

and

generating instructions for manufacturing the individual-specific eyewear product based on the second model.

20. A non-transitory computer readable medium for use on a computer system containing computer-executable programming instructions for performing a method of creating a model of an individual-specific eyewear product, the method comprising:

receiving, over an electronic network, and classifying one or more facial feature characteristics of users in a population of users;

storing an association between the classified one or more facial feature characteristics and at least one eyewear design attribute;

receiving, over an electronic network, or computing an individual-specific characteristic from image data of an individual outside of the population of users;

predicting an individual-specific eyewear design attribute for the individual based on the individual-specific characteristic and the stored association;

determining a first model of an eyewear product selected for the individual based on the predicted individual-specific eyewear design attribute, the first model comprising a solid model or a surface model of the eyewear product;

determining one or more configurable features of a geometry of a frame of the first model of the eyewear product;

quantifying at least a surface or a contour of an anatomic feature of the individual based on the image data of the individual;

generating a second model of the eyewear product by shaping a surface or a contour of the first model of the eyewear product to match the quantified surface or quantified contour of the anatomic feature of the individual while maintaining one or more parametric constraints on the geometry of the second model, the second model comprising a solid model or a surface model of the eyewear product;

and

generating instructions for manufacturing the individual-specific eyewear product based on the second model.