UK National Sizing Survey - SizeUK

Abstract

During 2000-2001 a consortium comprising the UK Government, major UK Retailers and leading universities conducted what we believe was the first national sizing survey to use 3D body scanners with automatic and measurement extraction as the principal method of data collection. We conducted a systematic benchmark of 3D scanners and prepared a measurement set to use with 3D scanners for clothing applications. Following the survey we gave assistance to a number of other national surveys, including the United States, Korea and Thailand, and advice to France, Germany, Brazil and Malaysia. The aim of this paper is to provide a description of SizeUK to assist further countries interested in conducting a national sizing survey; it covers sample cell sizes, the organisation of recruitment, and data collection. We discuss strategies for exploiting the data produced, through data sales, creation of size charts and production of custom fit mannequins. We consider the lessons that have been learned that lead us to ask how we might do things differently today, using automatic registration and increasing the range of types of data collected in mobile scanner units. In conclusion, we look at the exploration of SizeUK shape data.

A Review of Body Measurement Using 3D Scanning

“…In a narrower sense, anthropometry can be defined as the science of body measurement, where lengths, breadths, heights, and circumferences are used to numerically describe body segments and the overall body shape [11]. Body measurement is essential in quantifying the variations in and between populations of different countries, ethnicities, cultures, and ages [26], [137], and it strongly impacts medicine [46], [68], surveying [56], [174], the fashion industry [174], fitness [32], and entertainment [38].…”

Good Pain, Bad Pain: Dancers, Injury, and Listening to the Body

“…Two hundred and five participants were involved in the study over seventeen months. Participants were met at the research site and scanned using a 3D white light body scanner which had previously been used in fashion sizing research projects such as SizeUK (Bougourd, 2004). They then filled in a short questionnaire which collected demographic information and asked about the styles of dance in which they had studied and worked; present and past pains and injuries, whether they were currently seeing any health professionals and whether they carried supplementary health insurance.…”

Dancers’ Perceptions of Pain and Injury

“…This same equipment was previously used for the national Size UK survey to scan 11,000 people across the UK. 32 The results of each dancer's scan were imported into a program that produces a 3D contoured body image* and gives detailed body measurements. As part of the interview process, participants mapped the sites of current and past pain and injury and strengths and weaknesses onto their scanned image.…”