Early Scanners – 1990

History of 3D body scanners

The first Full body scanner was developed by Cyberware in the late 1990s and became widely available.

The scanner also entered the entertainment and military research industries in 1994.

The scanner used fixed and laser-safe sensors for the eye as a light source and rotated the scanned person on a circular surface.

Although the technology used in this scanner was adequate, its portability and high cost prevented the widespread use of this scanner.

In the first generation of body scanners, no particular project was done in clothing research or anthropometric studies due to the available scanning methods and hardware.

Use of 3D body scanners and scanned data in the clothing industry – 2005

Early use of scan data focused only on linear measurements extracted from the scan.

Full body 3D scanning provides data for anthropometric studies in different populations.

This information includes body shape analysis based on austere environments, extraction of measurements as a basis for custom clothing, and automatic size selection.

In the early years, there were initial attempts to make more use of the information obtained from the scans.

Still, in 1992 an initial study was conducted in which 3D scanners were taken from the heads and helmets of Army personnel.

The bodies of personnel without military uniforms and the integration of military uniforms into the individual’s body were also discussed in 3D.

Most forms of clothing in the past reflected clothing shapes rather than body shapes, but modern styles follow body curves.

Today, 3D body scans are also used to make clothing forms precisely the right size, shape, and condition for models to be used in clothing companies.

Digital 3D scanners (laser and structured light) – 2007

The main difference between scanners can be categorized into a light source or, in some cases, the use of invisible wavelengths that interact with the sensors used to collect data.

Laser scanners have long been considered a golden standard, but they also have drawbacks.

Laser sensors are slightly sensitive to color.

For example, black color cannot be scanned by a laser sensor.

For this reason, it seems that sensors with more capabilities will be needed.

Structured scanners are much faster than laser scanners, but optical scanner data requires more processing.

These scanners generally do a lot of scanning and then use computer algorithms to improve the scan level when building a 3D digital avatar.

Automated marking and data extraction software – 2010

Most scanners can automatically extract linear measurements from the scanner, but the algorithms used by different scanner companies are different.

The best-performing scanner may also not have the best automatic measurement system.

The first step in measuring through a scan is to identify the prominent points on the body’s surface.

Experts define these markers’ place well, although each group of scanner users has different markers’ place and other methods for measuring them.

Because there is so much variety in body shapes, reliable manual placement of markers is very difficult.

Designing software to accurately place markers on body scans is even more difficult.

Marker placement is generally done by programming to search for some geometric features on the body, but planning for any configuration is almost impossible.

Specialists often touch the body surface to find markers to select the appropriate bony prominences that mark the center of motion of the joint.

For scanning software, it is not possible to achieve the same level of accuracy and reliability by measuring joint markers based on body surface geometry.

But new algorithms are becoming more advanced daily in finding the precise parts of the body, and their accuracy and precision are increasing.

Of course, most scanner software developers explain that computer algorithms do not always place markers reliably.

On the other hand, a trained operator can often improve reliability by reviewing scan measurements and, if necessary, by visual inspection.

In the next part of this video, we will review the 3D scan in motion and review the history of the Anea 3D body scanner.

Finally, we will predict the development of 3D body scanners in the future.