3D body scanning

Clothing selection is generally made on the basis of appearance (looks and fashion), costs, and fit. Traditionally, clothing items are fitted in the retail outlet, but increasingly garments are purchased over the internet, making physical fitting impossible. Therefore, the technology of 3D body scanning becomes increasingly important. In the last decades bulky and costly 3D body scanners evolved to inexpensive, accurate, and easy-to-use devices. The 3D scans form a digital copy of the outside of the body and can be interfaced with the clothing patterns, a process called virtual fitting. The actual fit can be visualized using color maps representing the distance between garments and the skin (for loose fit) or visualization of the strain in the textiles (for tight fit). Also, making the clothing transparent on a rigid body can be used for fit assessment. The existing models are unfortunately poorly validated and mainly limited to static body postures, but new developments have started to face these challenges, for instance, standardization initiatives within International Standardization Organization, NATO, and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.