Loughborough Anthropometric Shadow Scanner (LASS)

Traditional anthropometric methods are inadequate for both the amount of data collected and the time required to collect it. The subject of this thesis is a study of the feasibility of producing a socially acceptable whole body measuring machine capable of obtaining three dimensional shape data of the human body. In particular the investigation of a novel idea ( British Patent No. 85.24473) using television cameras and a particular form of structured light illumination. The geometry of the system is explained and some aspects of lens distortion investigated. A television camera interface has been designed incorporating a single card computer to capture the video image and to transfer it to a Macintosh computer. Programs written for both the computer and the interface allow measurements to be made of a significant part of the human body and have produced results in both tabulated and graphical form. Compared with existing systems such as stereo-photogrammetry, Moire topography, light slit scanning and rasterstereography which require sophisticated image analysis techniques, the new system provides a more direct read-out of data. Body sway effects have been considered and the equipment has been used to measure the amount of sway in a small group of people.