Page 168 - Anthropometry, Apparel Sizing and Design

Full body 3-D scanners 163

Fig. 6.13 Image of a body scan of a
study participant on a bicycle. The
ability to scan participants in active
positions (which requires a large
scan volume) allows researchers to
investigate how body dimensions
vary when the body is in motion.

6.8 Expanding the repertoire of measurements taken
to make use of new concepts in the relationship
of bodies to clothes

One of the primary benefits of 3-D body scanning is in the ability to keep a permanent
digital model of study participants scanned, when they give permission in a signed
consent form. This allows the researcher to return to the models when new knowledge
or the need for additional measurements becomes apparent. As we work with the 3-D
model, we have the opportunity to experiment with new ways to capture information
about the body dimensions that can be difficult or impossible with a tape measure on
the actual body. The “frozen in time and space” digital model makes it possible to
measure in new ways, to ensure that adjacent measures are reliably related to one
another (i.e., body movement or changes in posture have not impacted the relationship
between measures), to take more measurements than can be tolerated if a person is
required to stand stationary for a long period, to easily place points of reference around
the figure such as planes from which to measure, to locate new measures such as larg-
est or smallest circumferences that are difficult to find with a tape measure, and to
capture actual body curves from the surface of the 3-D model.