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International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology

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An exploratory study of integrative approach between

3D body scanning technology and motion capture
systems in the apparel industry
a b
Yijing Zong & Young-A Lee
a
Fashion Design and Engineering , Donghua University , Shanghai, P.R. China
b
Apparel, Educational Studies and Hospitality Management , Iowa State University , Ames,
IA, USA
Published online: 24 May 2011.

To cite this article: Yijing Zong & Young-A Lee (2011) An exploratory study of integrative approach between 3D body scanning
technology and motion capture systems in the apparel industry, International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and
Education, 4:2, 91-101, DOI: 10.1080/17543266.2010.537281

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 International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education
Vol. 4, No. 2, July 2011, 91–101

An exploratory study of integrative approach between 3D body scanning technology and motion
capture systems in the apparel industry
Yijing Zonga and Young-A Leeb*
a
Fashion Design and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, P.R. China; bApparel, Educational Studies and Hospitality
Management, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
(Received 21 September 2010; final version received 1 November 2010)

The purpose of this study is (1) to examine the current usages of three-dimensional (3D) body scanning technology
and motion capture systems in the apparel industry, (2) to explore methods of complementing the limitations of 3D
body scanning technology and motion capture systems and (3) to seek possible implementations of both of the
Downloaded by [Cornell University Library] at 08:27 12 November 2014

technologies together in research areas related to apparel design and product development. This study discovered the
shortages of motion capture systems applied in apparel-related research and the limitations of 3D body scanners
used to capture information of bodies in non-standard postures until now. The integration of these two technologies
is recommended to overcome some of the limitations of each technology when using them for the research in apparel
design and product development.
Keywords: 3D body scanning; motion capture system; apparel; product development

1. Introduction projection or low power lasers to illuminate a narrow

The human body is the core of research in the area of
apparel design and product development. With tech-
nological advancements in modern society, two emer-
ging technologies, three-dimensional (3D) body
scanning technology and motion capture systems
have been given growing attention by apparel re-
searchers who investigate the relationships between a
certain apparel product and the human body. The 3D
body scanning technology captures the surface area of
a human body by using two different approaches,
white-light based and laser based, without physical
contact with the body. It records a static 3D image of a
human body, while the motion capture systems allow
the capture of the dynamic actions of the human body.
The purpose of this study is (1) to examine the
current usages of 3D body scanning technology and
motion capture systems in the apparel industry, (2) to
explore methods of complementing the limitations of
these emerging technologies and (3) to seek possible
implementations of both of the technologies together
in research areas related to apparel design and product
development.
1.1. 3D body scanning technology
3D whole body scanning technology is a relatively new
emerging approach that measures the surface areas of
a human body. It mainly uses moiré-based light
strip of the object’s surface, and the white light or laser
light is detected by charged coupled device cameras. As
with the outcome of a 3D body scan, the surface area
of an object is composed of point clouds which have
been triangulated and assigned in 3D spatial coordi-
nates (Lerch et al. 2008). Some other scanning systems
also exist, but are not used as widely as the two
mentioned above.
A light-based 3D body scanning technology
employs white light sources to project a contour
pattern on the surface area of an object. Two types
of white light sources that are commonly used are the
Moiré light projection technique (e.g. Wicks and
Wilson Limited) and a phase measuring profilometry
technique (e.g. [TC]2) (Istook and Hwang 2001). A
noticeable characteristic of light-based scanners is
faster data acquisition. A laser-based 3D body scan-
ning system like Cyberware1 (Paquette 1996) obtains
data using a triangulation method in which a strip of
light is emitted from laser diodes onto the surface area
of the scanned object. It is then viewed simultaneously
from two locations using an arrangement of mirrors.
Unlike other body scanning systems, the laser scanners
generate RGB colour values. The process of identify-
ing colour-coded landmarks is conducted for data
extraction after scanning (Istook and Hwang 2001).
Compared with traditional measuring procedures
(i.e. tape measure), 3D body scanning technology has

*Corresponding author. Email: ylee@iastate.edu

ISSN 1754-3266 print/ISSN 1754-3274 online

Ó 2011 Taylor & Francis
DOI: 10.1080/17543266.2010.537281
http://www.informaworld.com
 92 Y. Zong and Y.-A Lee
been shown to provide precise, scan-derived measure-
ments within a short time period (Lu et al. 2009).
Although 3D body scanners are still expensive
apparatus for apparel researchers or design profes-
sionals to use in research or product development,
these devices can produce an unlimited number of
accurate and reproducible measurements of the human
body within 10 to 15 s. The scanners also provide the
flexibility to extract new or revised measurements at
any time during the data analysis process, and to create
3D garment moulds covering the shapes of unique
human bodies as well. The garment moulds are
obtained in a digital format that can be used with
computer-aided design (CAD) pattern development
systems (e.g. Gerber1, Lectra1 or Optitex1) for
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further applications (Pargas et al. 1997).
Various researchers have also identified several
disadvantages of this technology, such as missing data,
colour sensitivities and pose limitations in scanning.
Because of shading, particularly in armpits and crotch
areas, missing data necessitates that researchers spend
extra time and effort on additional data processing,
such as filtering, smoothing, filling and compressing
using advanced 3D modelling computer software, for
example Polyworks1, Geomagic1 and RapidForm1.
Light absorption by dark colours limits the clothing
that can be worn for the 3D body scan. Usually, dark-
coloured outfits are not recommended for the body
scan. In addition, movements of the subject during the
scanning process affect the results of body measure-
ments (Daanen and van de Water 1998). Almost all 3D
body scanners are designed to scan static poses of a
human body. Therefore, many portions of the body
are difficult to capture when a person is scanned in
different positions, such as bending, crawling and
sitting.
1.2. Motion capture systems
A motion capture system records the movements of a
performer, which is typically, but not always, a human
being. Motions are based on an articulated rigid
structure of a model of a human body. They are
captured using either a model-based or a feature-points
approach to the problem of tracking joints (Zelman
et al. 2009). Different from a simple video recording, a
virtual human body mimicking the performer’s posture
can be viewed in real-time through the use of motion
capture systems, which compute 3D skeletal represen-
tations of the motions with sufficient quality (Gleicher
and Ferrier 2002). Motion capture systems vary in the
number of cameras used (camera configuration), the
representation of captured data, the types of algo-
rithms programmed into the system, the various
models used, and the application to either specific
body regions or the whole body. According to the core
technologies adopted, the systems can be classified as
marker-based and markerless techniques.
Marker-based motion capture systems are usually
based on magnetic sensors that provide the accurate
identification of a body’s figure points as well as its
movements (Herda et al. 2000). One major problem of
the marker-based approach is that a computer can
only track performers wearing precisely placed and
calibrated markers. Other limitations are related to (1)
long preparation time for the setup process, (2) high
cost of markers, (3) marker positions and lack of
visibility which can cause experimental artefacts and
deform the subject’s silhouette (Ceseracciu et al. 2009)
and (4) the limited range of measurement spaces. These
marginalise the applications of human motion capture
to the domain of industrial usages.
Markerless motion capture systems, which are
involved in sophisticated vision algorithms, observe a
person by the use of one or several cameras (Boulay
et al. 2006). These systems promote the application of
motion capture for industrial usages that are not
limited to the laboratory. However, computational and
technical complexities of a full 3D description of the
kinematics of a human body have slowed the
introduction of this markerless approach in various
industries (Surer et al. 2009).
Unlike the 3D body scanning technology only
capturing the 3D surface area of a human body in a
static position, motion capture systems provide accu-
rate 3D data that include exact skeletal motions and
body dimensions. They adopt the full speed tracking
technique for motion capture in real time. Motion
capture systems have several limitations in use: (1) the
systems provide information only about joints and
skeletons, but not about flesh and skin, (2) the
captured data lack flexibilities, for example, they are
not easy to edit or modify for other purposes because
these data are solidified and designed for specific
purposes or circumstances and (3) the data format may
vary depending on the type of motion capture system
used. Each motion capture system defines its own data
format to express the captured contents, ranging from
a simple segment form to a complex hierarchical
structure form (Morales 2001, Chung and Lee 2004).
2. Current applications of 3D body scanning
technology and motion capture systems
With the development of advanced technologies, 3D
body scanning technology and motion capture systems
have been widely applied in research and in practice.
Unlike 3D body scanners, motion capture systems have
not often been used for the apparel industry but have
been more involved in human–computer interactions,
 International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education
such as entertainment and computer animation. Both
technologies have also been successfully employed in the
fields of biomedical engineering and ergonomics.
2.1. Applications of 3D body scanning technology
The initial aim of using 3D scanning technology was to
efficiently obtain anthropometric measurements of a
human body, which can replace the method of
traditional tape measurements in the apparel industry.
In recent decades, researchers in the field of textiles and
clothing, especially in the area of design and product
development, have used 3D body scanning technology
to conduct nationwide surveys, mainly to develop
standardised sizing systems as well as analyse demo-
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graphic changes in various nations, such as the USA,
Japan, Italy, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany,
China, France and South Korea (Lu and Wang 2008,
Lu et al. 2009). Body measurements and 3D human
models alike were collected through these surveys to
build a comprehensive nationwide database.
Some studies have also employed 3D body scan-
ning technology to gain partial anthropometric mea-
surements and 3D body models. For instance, several
studies were focused on female breast shapes and
brassiere development (Lee et al. 2004, Lee and Hong
2007, Wang and Zhang 2007, Zheng et al. 2007). In
addition to generating two-dimensional (2D) body
measurements, 3D body scanners have been used to
record the surface area and volume of the entire body
or the selected parts of the body. Yu et al. (2003) made
the use of 3D body scanning technology to derive a
formula to estimate a simple body surface area using a
sample of 3,951 Chinese adults. Yu et al. (2008) also
used 3D body anthropometry data to investigate the
percentages for the surface areas of the hand and palm
of the body surface area.
Mass-produced custom apparel design is a process
that seeks to produce clothing designed and fitted to an
individual’s body size and proportions. Body measure-
ments obtained from the 3D body scan are combined
with CAD systems as well as single-layer cutting
machines to form a made-to-measure chain, which
enables manufacturers to efficiently create individua-
lised products (Daanen and van de Water 1998). In a
few recent studies, 3D body scanning was adopted to
be one of the procedures of novel intelligent systems
for custom clothing making (Xu et al. 2002, Petrak and
Rogale 2006, Lu et al. 2010).
3D body scanners can also capture the image of a
fully clothed and equipped body. Based on this trait,
researchers explored a number of applications of 3D
body scanning technology from functional/protective
apparel design and development to virtual apparel fit
analysis. In a study of military garments, 3D body
93
scanning technology provided a quantitative approach
to assess surface area coverage and degrees of ballistic
protection for different design styles of protective body
armour. In several other studies, researchers obtained
virtual 3D body models of soldiers wearing full combat
gear and imported these models into specialised
programs in order to conduct further investigations.
For example, they used an infrared signature to help
determine how effective the material and other design
features are at minimising soldiers’ vulnerability to
detection, or simulating jumps of fully loaded para-
troopers from a military transport aircraft (Paquette
1996). Lee et al. (2007) used 3D body scanners to
measure microclimate volumes in layered clothing,
which contributed a novel approach to evaluate the air
layer under the clothing.
A few studies also tested the effectiveness of using
3D body scanners to scan clothed participants for a
clothing fit analysis. Using multiple measurements
derived from the scan data, researchers evaluated the
way the sizes ranged, measurement specifications, and
grading rules that could be improved to better
accommodate a set of pants designed for a specific
female target market (Ashdown et al. 2001, Ashdown
et al. 2004, Loker et al. 2005). Daanen and Hong
(2008) compared two methods of using 3D body scan
data, two-dimensional scan-derived measurements and
triangulations of the scanned 3D body model, when
producing skirts. The findings showed that the fit of
the 3D-generated skirt was much better than that of
the skirt based on the two-dimensional scan
measurements.
Aside from using this emerging technology in the
field of textiles and clothing as discussed above, 3D
body scanning technology has also been widely
adopted in other fields, such as industrial engineering,
computer animation or graphic, biomedical engineer-
ing and ergonomics. Particular body scanners are
mainly used in the movie industry. Computer anima-
tors employ them to generate animated movies,
computer-generated special effects and digital images
of famous personalities (Daanen and van de Water
1998, Ashdown et al. 2004). In the medical field,
scanning devices have been employed by craniofacial
surgeons to measure and assess critical aspects of facial
morphology as well as in the complex breast region for
investigating the measurement of breast volume, which
is necessary to evaluate the aesthetic result of breast
surgery (Paquette 1996). In ergonomics, whole body
scanners have provided an effective method to improve
the computerised human models used in ergonomic
design and evaluation such as the models used in
automobile seat designs and comfortable chair designs
in the furniture industry (Daanen and van de Water
1998).
 94 Y. Zong and Y.-A Lee
2.2. Applications of motion capture systems
The major applications of motion capture systems are
involved in motion analyses in various fields including
character animation. One of the research directions on
human motion analysis is in the field of human–
computer interaction, in particular related to computer
vision and machine learning, which is concentrated on
tracking, estimating and recognising human motions for
surveillance purposes (Mündermann et al. 2006) or
simulation purposes. For example, Kapur et al. (2005)
conducted a study to train a machine to identify different
human emotions, such as sadness, joy, anger and fear by
implementing the technique of capturing full body
skeletal movements. Some other researchers also de-
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signed humanoid robots based on the data from human
motion capture (Dasgupta and Nakamura 1999).
Motion capture systems were also used in the field
of biomechanics. Corazza and Andriacchi (2009)
adopted a 3D markerless motion capture system to
measure the postural movements of the body’s centre
of mass, which is a key variable in posture graphic
analyses. Another similar study was conducted to
evaluate the measurements of vertical displacements of
a single point on the sacrum in order to estimate the
entire body’s centre of mass while subjects ran on a
treadmill using the marker-based motion capture
system (Gullstrand et al. 2009). The functional
identification of joint centres was conducted by
adopting motion capture, which is of great importance
in biomechanical applications, especially in the devel-
opment of musculoskeletal models of a human body
(Corazza et al. 2007).
Moreover, researchers in the field of clinical and
physiotherapeutic medicine employed motion capture
systems to analyse patients’ body movements. A
motion capture system that used infrared passive-
reflective markers was adopted to examine the
accuracy of video-based observational posture ana-
lyses in the area of the elbow and shoulder, which are
related to occupational shoulder disorders (Lowe
2004). In another study, Garrido-Castro et al. (2009)
examined the reliability of measuring spinal mobility
using a marker-based motion capture system for the
assessment of ankylosing spondylitis. Similarly, a
group of Polish researchers attempted to use a motion
capture system to evaluate the kinematics of a spine
deformed by scoliosis (Maciejasz and Chwala 2006).
In addition, motion capture systems have been used
to help analyse the body movements of athletes and
trainers in order to improve their performance. Several
ergonomists have also employed motion capture
systems to track the motions of users and to transfer
them to virtual manikins to conduct the detailed
analyses of the users’ comfort in the field of industrial
design (Caputo et al. 2001). Furthermore, this system
has been broadly applied in the entertainment and
gaming industries, such as in avatar animation and
their control. It has been frequently used in the
interface of games, virtual environments, animation,
and the control of remotely located implements (Lee
et al. 2002).
Compared with 3D body scanning technology,
motion capture systems have not been widely used in
the apparel industry. Cheung and Ng (2007) used the
method of a marker-based motion capture system to
measure rear-foot angles of runners in order to
investigate the efficacy of motion control shoes in
reducing excessive rear-foot motions of fatigued
runners. A few previous studies focused on developing
textile-based wearable motion sensors as an alternative
method to a marker-based motion capture system, but
they made little contribution to the research in apparel
design and product development.
Plenty of relevant studies have been separately
completed using either 3D body scanning technology
or a motion capture system; however, there has been
limited research using an integrative approach of these
two technologies in the area of apparel design and
product development. Therefore, the purpose of this
study is to provide possible future research directions
for researchers to implement both 3D body scanning
technology and motion capture systems in their
research, particularly in the area of apparel design
and product development.
3. Methods
A female college student was conveniently chosen in
this study to explore a possible integrative approach of
using 3D body scanning technology and a motion
capture system. A large number of subjects were not
needed because the study only focused on exploring
possible usages of 3D visual data from the two
technologies.
A series of motions designed by researchers, which
were mainly related to the various movements of legs,
were recorded by a motion capture system. Then,
several similar postures in the motion sequence were
captured by a 3D body scanner. The data were then
transferred into several 3D modelling programs step by
step and processed using those programs to some
extent. Possible applications and implications of these
two technologies are discussed later in this article.
3.1. 3D body scanning technology and motion capture
systems
A [TC]2 NX-16 white-light body scanner and the
Animazoo1 IGS-190 motion capture system were used
 International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education
for this exploratory study. The 3D body scanner
employs optical triangulation with white-light scan-
ning technology, which records precise non-contact 3D
measurements of a human body via 32 independent
cameras from the front left, front right, back left and
back right at four columns. The images captured by
each camera are combined to form point-cloud data
with 600,000 to 1 million points. Then, segmentations
of the body and the measurement extractions are
gained from the raw data of 3D scans ([TC]2 2008).
Animazoo IGS-190 is an inertial gyroscopic motion
capture system that features 19 tiny inertial sensors
attached to a flexible Lycra1 suit. The moveable gyros
are possible to achieve optimum placements ensuring
the accuracy of measurements from the joint and not
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the muscle (Animazoo 2010).
3.2. Procedures
Three steps were involved to collect data in this study:
(1) two photos of a participant were taken to create an
actor file which would be used in the process of a
motion capture, (2) the participant was asked to wear a
suit with sensors provided by researchers and then
asked to act out a series of motions followed by the
motion capture script that was developed by research-
ers and then (3) the participant was scanned in the
several postures that were similar to the motions
involved in the second step. The total time spent
for the data collection was approximately 1 h and
45 min.
3.2.1. Step 1 – actor file creation
The participant was asked to stop by the motion
capture laboratory several days before conducting the
participant’s motion capture. Front and side views of
the participant were initially photographed to acquire
relevant body information. An ‘Actor File’ was then
generated using configurable user body geometry with
the AutoCal1 software, which uses an intuitive drag-n-
drop approach that is overlaid on two photos of the
actor posing inside a jig with known dimensions (see
Figure 1).
3.2.2. Step 2 – motion capture
The participant needed to revisit the motion capture
laboratory at the time appointed to conduct the
motion capture part. The participant was first asked
to wear a special Lycra1 suit with 19 sensors. After
completing a system calibration, the actor was asked to
perform a sequence of motions. These motions
included several leg actions, including relaxed walking,
marching, squatting, kneeling and sitting.
95
Figure 1. Actor file creation.
3.2.3. Step 3 – 3D body scan
The participant concluded the motion capture by
visiting the 3D body scanning laboratory. The partici-
pant was first asked to wear a light colour, tight-fitted
suit provided by researchers. In the 3D body scanner,
the participant’s body information was then recorded
via point clouds which were segmented into seven parts
including the trunk, arms, hands and legs. Aside from
the standard standing posture shown in Figure 2,
researchers also asked for the participant to pose several
different body positions which were consistent with or
similar to the motions involved in Step 2.
3.3. Data processing
The data obtained by the motion capture system are
typically in the *.an file format which can then be
imported into Animaview1 to edit key frames and to
clean footsteps of a human body. It specialises in
correcting jumps, climbs or descents, effects of skin,
muscle or clothing artefacts on the root sensor, and
most importantly, cleaning the contact between the
floor and all of the body parts that might need to touch
the floor, especially feet (also head, shoulders, elbows,
hands, knees and the buttocks) (Animazoo 2010). The
files could be exported as the file format *.bvh, which
could be processed by common animation programs
such as ‘MotionBuilder’ and ‘Cinema 4.’
The 3D body scan data can be saved as the file
formats of *.rbd (default file), *.obj and *.wrl (VRML
file). The RBD file is the basis of extracting body
measurements that could be used to conduct data
extraction based on the 3D body models. The OBJ file,
a universally accepted format, is a simple data format
that represents 3D geometry. The VRML file is the
 96 Y. Zong and Y.-A Lee
standard 3D file format for the Web that is possible to
import and export in many 3D authoring tools (Chen
2003).
In this study, the data of 3D body scan and motion
capture were processed by various 3D modelling
programs. The motion capture data and 3D body
scan data were converted into FBX and DXF formats,
respectively. Both files could import into the Maya1
program which offers an end-to-end creative workflow
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Figure 2. 3D body scan image in a standard static position.
Figure 3. Motion captures of walking, marching, and kicking.
with comprehensive tools for 3D animation, model-
ling, simulation, visual effects, rendering, match mov-
ing and compositing. The Maya1 program requires
the high quality of the surface model for characters.
Therefore, the model filtering, filling and smoothing
should be completed to eliminate all of the triangular
surfaces before running the Maya1 program. In this
exploratory study, the data from 3D body scan and
motion capture were not imported into the Maya
program for further data analysis since the data
cleaning had not been processed.
4. Results and discussion
4.1. Results and discussion of motion capture and 3D
body scan
The visual data recorded by the motion capture system
are shown in Figures 3 and 4. These two figures show
the movements of skeletal structures which are
composed of joints and bones without muscles and
skin.
A number of unbalanced errors of foot placements
as jumps existed in the raw data. Researchers could
identify these jumps and then conduct small changes
using Animaview software; for example, an incorrect
foot placement shown in Figure 4(c) in which the left
foot should be placed on the ground. After adjusting
the foot placement using Animaview, the virtual model
could achieve a balanced status as shown in Figure 5.
Although the adjusting process using the available
software could make tiny leans or displacements to the
coordinates of the space, it could not really change the
error of the foot placement. Morales (2001) states that
the data lacks enough flexibility to be edited or
modified as restrictions exist in current motion capture
systems.
The 3D visual images from 3D body scan are
revealed by point clouds as shown in Figure 6 and
 International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education
Figure 4. Motion captures of sitting, kneeling, and
squatting.
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Figure 5. Squat I motion capture after the correction of a
foot placement.
Figure 7. A few obvious missing parts were observed
on the top of the head and the tips of the hands or feet.
Light absorption by the participant’s black hair was
one of the reasons for missing a relatively large area on
the head. The missing parts on the tips of the hands
were due to the shadow of the handles of the scanner.
The undersides of the thighs and the hips were also
shadowed by the chair that was used when scanning a
sitting position (see Figure 7(a)). These missing parts
failed to form a closed 3D visual model when the data
97
were imported to 3D modelling software to conduct
further data analyses. Therefore, body models needed
to be patched and filled in by researchers before they
conducted further data analyses. Advanced 3D model-
ling computer software such as Geomagic1, Poly-
works1 and RapidForm1 can be employed to conduct
further data analyses including filtering, smoothing,
filling and compressing the data. This part of data
cleaning was not processed for this exploratory study.
This experimental, exploratory study found that
3D body models were not able to generate in certain
body positions when using the [TC]2 NX-16 body
scanner. In other words, the body information can be
captured and saved as *.wrl files; however, it fails to
save as *.rbd files on some occasions. This study
demonstrates that the body measurement system fails
to identify the measurements of a certain body area in
certain body positions such as the postures shown in
(a), (e), (f) and (g) of Figure 3 and Figure 4(d). Within
these five failing postures, one common point that was
found in (a), (e), (f) and (g) of Figure 3 was that one of
the legs was leaving the floor. It is possible to assume
that the generation of a body model in the [TC]2 body
scanning system is related to the position or placement
of the foot. If the foot is leaving the floor, the system
may not locate correct key measurement points, which
causes errors to extract measurements on the legs.
Additionally, too closely located legs can be caused to
clearly identify the measurements on the legs. For
example, although two feet exactly contact with the
floor at the same time in Figure 4(d), two legs contact
each other too closely, which may hinder the measure-
ment extraction on the legs.
This finding leads to the following assumption that
the 3D body scanner used for this study limits the
applications of 3D body scanning technology to non-
standard positions because the [TC]2 measurement
system generates body models based on distinct
measurements, at least from the legs and the feet.
This assumption is supported by Certain and Stuetzle’s
(1999) study which failed to obtain body measure-
ments and 3D body models from obese subjects whose
legs might touch all the way down to the knees.
Since the [TC]2 body measurement system auto-
matically extracts body measurements, it cannot
exactly identify the key points and position measure-
ments when the participant is modelling in a non-
standard position. In particular, it only extracts
horizontal sections as circumferences except the girths
of the upper arm, elbow and wrist. Shortly, when the
trunk or the legs are in non-standard postures, the
program fails to extract correct measurements.
To overcome this limitation, Xu (2008) proposed
an available approach to acquire coordinated data of
any section from the horizontal and the vertical as well
 98 Y. Zong and Y.-A Lee
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Figure 6. 3D body scan image in standing and walking postures.
Figure 7. 3D body scan image in sitting, kneeling and
squatting.
as at different angles of the body model. The girth of
each section could also be computed in this approach.
According to the Xu (2008) study, the data imported
the VRML file into the 3D Studio Max1 program and
was exported in a *.dwg or a *.dxf format, which is
used for AutoCAD1. In order to read data points on
the surface area of the body and the clothing, the
researcher programmed a plug-in with Visual C þ
þ 6.0 based on the DXF files employed in Auto-
CAD1. This method made it possible to acquire
human body measurements in various non-standard
positions.
In the field of animation, captured motion data are
usually processed as a skeleton of a character by 3D
animation programs, such as MotionBuilder1, 3D
Studio Max1, Maya1, Poser1 and Cinema 4D1. The
motion capture system used in this study was
Animazoo and the data could be saved as BVH files
after the completion of the data cleaning. BVH files
can then be imported into MotionBuilder1 and
Cinema 4D1, and be read by Maya1 and 3D Studio
Max1 after further format conversions are completed.
Although the characters used to add skin to the
skeleton in these programs are pre-designed, or
designed based on bitmap, not vectorgraph, these
programs are not easily applied to build precise body
models with specific measurements or simulate real
human motions. Ma et al. (2004) formulated solutions
via the establishment of various computer algorithms
and developed a human body posture simulation
program with VC þþ 6.0 and Open GL. This
program could detect eigenvalues of the human
gridding model, which was built from 3D body scan
data and extracted the skeleton to build mapped
relationships. The posture dynamic simulation to a
particular body was also completed by inputting the
angles of joint movements.
4.2. Applications of 3D body scanning technology and
motion capture systems
This study presents various applications of 3D body
scanning technology and motion capture systems to
obtain accurate body measurements of 3D body
models in a non-standard posture and to simulate the
dynamic postures of a particular body model, which
could be further explored in the field of textiles and
clothing, especially in the area of apparel design and
product development. Future research applications of
integrating these two technologies include: (1) to build
 International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education
motion simulative models, (2) to examine the mobility
and function of apparel and (3) to promote custom-
made clothing.
4.2.1. Building motion simulative models
The first application, building motion simulative
models, can be used to calculate the skin stretch or
constringency in a particular area when human
gestures change. It is possible to conduct further
research on fit analysis in various gestures. For
example, the elasticity of materials and the flexibility
of garments could be deduced based on the measure-
ments of skin stretch. In addition, it could dynamically
simulate worn clothing, which may display the varia-
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tions of pleated fabrics at the joint areas or draping
shapes of a skirt when the wearer’s gestures change.
Furthermore, the integration of these two technologies
will contribute to apparel configuration designs such as
optimal designs for the knee area or sleeves.
4.2.2. Examine the mobility and function of apparel
Further integrative approach of 3D body scanning
technology and the motion capture system can be an
effective method to examine the mobility and function
of apparel. Researchers could use both technologies to
explore the restrictions of clothing structure, size and
materials on complex acting performance of athletes,
soldiers or fire fighters. In the current study, the
research involved in motion capture systems is based
on the particular suit which cannot be tested along
with any other clothing. This limitation will be able to
resolve with the continuous effort on developing
precise markerless motion capture systems.
4.2.3. Design and develop custom-made product
The last approach of employing both technologies
would be to encourage research on custom-made
clothing for diverse consumer populations including
people with disabilities. With the development of high
speed Internet and dramatic increases in the popula-
tion who use the Internet, apparel researchers and
industry professionals have turned their interests to on-
line shopping or e-commerce.
One limitation of selling apparel products online is
that customers cannot try the merchandise on. Since
3D body scanning technology has been introduced in
the apparel industry, several apparel companies tried
to incorporate the 3D body scan data into virtual
avatar generation for their online customers. The basic
assumption is that 3D body scan data will be able to
generate the virtual body of each individual in cyber-
space and will allow online customers to try various
99
garments on their own avatar, also called as a virtual
body. However, the conversion of 3D scan data to a
virtual model is not a simple procedure. In addition,
many other issues such as a garment draping by
different types of fabrics are played along with an
accurate generation of 3D virtual body model. Easy
data conversion system should be developed for many
apparel companies to adopt this emerging technology
for their e-retailing and this will lead to the satisfaction
of online customers. The combined application of 3D
body scanning technology and motion capture systems
will contribute to the development of virtual fitting
rooms for online customers.
The integration of these two technologies is also
highly beneficial to meet various individuals’ clothing
needs, including people with disabilities who have
irregular body traits and motion characteristics that
are different from others. The integration of these
emerging technologies will compensate the limitation
of each technology and definitely solve some limita-
tions that clothing researchers and design professionals
face when designing new products to meet the needs of
various individuals.
5. Conclusions
This exploratory study clearly presents various possi-
bilities to integrate these emerging technologies – 3D
body scanning technology and motion capture sys-
tems – together in the fields of textiles and clothing.
Through the literature review and the exploratory
experiment, this study found that (1) motion capture
systems were not widely used in the apparel design and
product development area so far, (2) 3D body scanning
technology has had the major limitation to capture 3D
body information in non-standard postures such as
bending and sitting and (3) the data of 3D body scan
and motion capture were in a different default file
format so it has been challenged to easily process both
data in a commonly available software. In sum, three
possible integrative approaches were proposed for
future research, which were to build motion simulative
models, to measure the mobility and function of
apparel, and to promote online custom-made clothing
development.
The results and interpretation of this experimental
study are limited by the specific systems used for the
data collection – [TC]2 3D body scanner and the
Animazoo motion capture system. The non-standard
postures scanned by the 3D scanner were still static key
postures in a motion sequence; they were not real
dynamic motions. Thus, these key postures limit
further research and could not represent the dynamic
movements and status of clothing when the body
moves. Additionally, the method of dynamic posture
 100 Y. Zong and Y.-A Lee
simulation for a particular body discussed in this
article was not involved in the movements of muscles
and skin. In this case, it is unable to represent the
change of body measurements in diverse postures.
More exploratory research should be conducted to use
3D body scanning technology together with motion
capture systems in the research areas of apparel design
and product development.
Lastly, further research is needed to develop
common data file format for both technologies so
that future researchers and industry professionals can
easily assess such data without several steps of data
conversion. It would be ideal to generate a universal
file format that encompasses various 3D data.
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