Measuring the efficacy of positioning aids for capturing 3D data in different clothing configurations and postures with a high-resolution whole-body scanner

Numerous surveys have been conducted worldwide to capture 3D anthropometric data of individuals scanned in tight underwear. However, such semi-nude data are inadequate for designing workspaces for specialised user populations who wear protective clothing and equipment. Determining the offset between semi-nude and clothed configurations requires the same individual to be repeatedly scanned in exactly the same posture. Specifically, for the use in a high-resolution 3D body scanner, positioning aids for the standing and seated posture were developed to stabilise the posture during the scanning process without compromising data integrity. The mean absolute variability (MAV) index was introduced to determine the efficacy of the positioning aids. It was shown that the positioning aids efficiently reduce the variability in fore-and-aft and side-to-side directions. This way the precondition was created for the precise superimposition of scans permitting the offset between diverse clothing configurations to be determined.