14 DAY TRIAL // 3D scans have so far been used to make small figurines of the people themselves, but there are many more applications for them, and the folks at Body Labs have latched onto one that might make or break the way supply and demand work in the future.
Well, maybe that's a bit grandly put, but it's still true: 3D scans could change how you interact with tailors, footwear makers and everything else that today needs you to be present for measurements.
So, since it's assumed that, at some point in the future, everyone will own a 3D scanner, or have easy access to one, 3D body scans should be turned into a user interface as soon as possible.
After all, it's not like people get fat or thin all that fast, unless they really put effort into it, so you could, in theory, visit a 3D printing service store, get a scan of yourself, and use it for a few months whenever you want to custom-order a set of clothing or something else of the sort.
Anyway, Body Labs have turned it into a mission, to develop an advanced technology that can take a 3D model and create a 3D digital avatar from it.
It took ten years of collaboration with Brown University and the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, but they pulled it off.
They had to create some algorithms from scratch, in order to make the consumer interface. Their invention should allow customers to find, acquire and compare goods and services based on their size, shape and range of motion.
So it's not just that you'll be able to send tailors your body shape. You might even be able to launch a program on your PC, and use a 3D scan of yourself to see how you'd look in this or that shirt or suit from this or that retailer.
Clothing and product design, 3D printing for specialty equipment and apparel, even gaming and animation applications will be included, or at least supported by the consumer interface.
Here is how the avatar is created: a user uploads a body scan or enters a few body measurements into BodyHub, an online web application. After that, they can use the app to repose, resize or animate the avatar, or just go ahead and upload it to computer-aided design (CAD) software, where it can be further animated and dressed.
BodyHub will be used just by designers at first, to see how their clothes fit different body shapes and types. Eventually, though, we have no doubt that everyday customers will start to call on its skills.
