EUROFIT - Integration, Homogenisation and Extension of the Scope of Large 3D Anthropometric Data Pools for Product Development

Abstract

Over the last decades, human body metrics have been used to improve human-product interaction. Along this period, the use of 1D-measurements in "classic" ergonomic applications has been extended to consumer goods industries such as the automotive, apparel, furniture or orthopedic products. New technologies for the gathering, storage and analysis of anthropometric data have boosted the availability of digital anthropometric resources. Since 1999, more than 16 large-scale national 3D body scanning surveys have been conducted around the world (six in Europe). The availability of these data pools has created the opportunity to exploit shape information beyond today's 1D-measurement based use and methodologies. However, these data pools are dispersed and heterogeneous (e.g. different scanning technologies or different protocols) and, above all, the exploitation of 3D data at industry level requires knowledge, skills and resources beyond the means of companies, especially SMEs. These barriers have until now strongly limited the use of existing 3D shape data to scientific and academic research.The paper introduces the EUROFIT project initiative (www.eurofit-project.eu). EUROFIT is a collaborative project co-funded by the European Community which started in June 2012. EUROFIT vision is to unleash the huge potential provided by the increasing number of databases of 3D body scans for the European consumer goods' industries. The project aims to implement an online platform and an open framework that enables designers and industrialists to draw useful 3D shape information and use it in their product development processes in an easy and direct way. R&D work focusses on the systematization and extension of methods for 3D shape data aggregation and analysis in a reliable but economically sustainable way, as well as on the development of sector-specific applications and user-friendly interfaces.

A new data structure and workflow for using 3D anthropometry in the design of wearable products

“…For each shape, this is a one-to-one parameterization such that a correspondence between similar points is established (31,32). Research on statistical shape models of the human body has made major progress, with over the last decades the seminal work of Allen to establish correspondences (33), construction of the Caesar database (10, 11) and a realm of 3D databases becoming available (13). Applications comprise animations (34,35), apparel (6,36,37), orthopedics (8) and industrial design (7,16,17,38,39).…”

“…Realistic static 3D images of the human body are increasingly available over the past decade (10) (11) (12). With the alignment of international 3D anthropometrical databases (13), a realm of realistic 3D models of the human body is potentially constructed (14). Data acquisition is regulated by ISO 20685:2010.…”

3D-Based Resources Fostering the Analysis, Use, and Exploitation of Available Body Anthropometric Data

“…The template structure used by IBV was developed under the EUROFIT project [1,2,3]. It is constituted by a single closed mesh surface made up of 49.530 vertices, 99.056 triangle faces and a 17-bone and 14-joint skeleton as depicted in Figure 2 [4].…”

“…Optimization can be achieved by solving a minimization problem using gradient-descent methods [26] where the variables are the PCA scores minimizing the deviations from the desired measurements. The performance of the former approach in our implementation achieves maximum differences between the target value and actual value of 1-5 cm depending on the combination of measurements, while the optimized implementation can achieve maximum error values in the order of 0.01cm [1,27].…”

“…the calculation of Principal Components of human shape data, b. the creation of the representative 3D shapes from the shape components and its visualization, c. pre-defined measurement extraction based on ISO 7250 and 8559, d. the definition of new measurement for product specific measurements, and e. establishing and modelling measurement-component relations. An example of the potential of the application of this technology for product design and development was conducted within the EUROFIT project [1,4], were Principal Components of Spanish women lower body shape were used to create a new three-dimensional sizing system of the female work trousers developed by the company Iturri S.A. Principal components were used to identify and quantify the intrinsic shape variations related to the key design parameters of the trouser pattern.…”