Page 19 - Anthropometry, Apparel Sizing and Design

14 Anthropometry, Apparel Sizing and Design

1.2.4.4 3-D avatars

For designing of garments that fit, designing needs to be done directly on the 3-D
form. Raw body scans obtained from various scanning sources are not ready for
use and have to undergo several steps of cleaning and manipulation before they are
ready for use. Current CAD software for patternmaking cannot automatically extract
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and use data from 3-D measurement acquisition systems (D abolina et al., 2018). Ani-
mated avatars that can simulate various poses will help the designers to visualize the
stresses and strains in the skin and body. Avatars that can simulate body softness and
compressibility and can be morphed to simulate real bodies as they grow, age, and
move are required (Ballester et al., 2014).

1.2.5 Future outlook

Three-dimensional body scanners have been used successfully by companies and
institutions across the world to carry out a large-scale anthropometric survey of their
target populations. Companies such as Levi’s and Brooks Brothers tried to use them at
their retail outlets to offer customized clothing services to clients. However, none of
the attempts have been successful commercially. Given the high cost and lack of suc-
cess at the retail end, it appears that large booth-type scanners may no longer remain
viable in the long term. Recent developments in mobile scanning technologies,
coupled with powerful computing and graphics capabilities, have a tremendous poten-
tial to shape the future of the apparel industry. Scanning systems that are precise and
yield reproducible scans not affected by the clothing or pose of the user will become
popular. Individual scan data will grow, but issues of comparability of data between
scanners, accuracy of data processing and output, reproducibility of scans, standard-
ization, and marking of landmarks would have to be resolved. Small companies and
large online companies with no physical presence will be able to use scan data
uploaded on the cloud by individuals through scanning apps. This would allow com-
panies access to a truly global, updated database, without ever having to own a scanner
or scan anyone physically. This vast database could be mined using deep learning and
AI tools for MTM and RTW apparel manufacturing.

1.3 Anthropometric data analysis and output

A key process in anthropometry is data analysis and the form in which the output is
made available to practitioners. Till the end of 20th century, good-quality anthropo-
metric data were rare and precious resource, and only linear measures were available.
The output was published in the form of size charts derived from clustering and aver-
aging the body measurements of a population. Based on this approach, size charts for
men, women, and kids were developed for US, UK, French, Chinese, Korean, and
other populations across the world.
Development of 3-D body scanners, along with customer requirements for better
fitting products led to a race for the collection of anthropometric data by private enter-
prises and governments. Individual data collected by customers have further added to