Automatically Creating Design Models from 3D Anthropometry Data

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel computational geometry-based method to automatically generate representative 3D human shape models from anthropometric data, improving the design process for fitting products like glasses and helmets.

Contribution

It presents an automated approach leveraging 3D anthropometric databases and covering problem solutions to create design models, reducing manual effort and empirical guesswork.

Findings

Successfully generated representative models for glasses and helmets.

Demonstrated the method's effectiveness using real anthropometric data.

Reduced manual design iterations through automated model creation.

Abstract

When designing a product that needs to fit the human shape, designers often use a small set of 3D models, called design models, either in physical or digital form, as representative shapes to cover the shape variabilities of the population for which the products are designed. Until recently, the process of creating these models has been an art involving manual interaction and empirical guesswork. The availability of the 3D anthropometric databases provides an opportunity to create design models optimally. In this paper, we propose a novel way to use 3D anthropometric databases to generate design models that represent a given population for design applications such as the sizing of garments and gear. We generate the representative shapes by solving a covering problem in a parameter space. Well-known techniques in computational geometry are used to solve this problem. We demonstrate the method using examples in designing glasses and helmets.