Louisiana State University Agricultural Center (LSU AGCenter), headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has built a 4D body scanner device. This device, which looks like a mix between an airport body scanner and a voting booth, can help create new apparel sizing standards, according to the size and shape of the current population.
Laurel Romeo, an assistant professor at LSU AGCenter, said the machine is accurate within plus or minus 3 millimeters and gives 1.5 million data points that create a true-to-scale digital model of the person scanned, according to information on LSU AGCenter website.
Romeo said the body scanner can help create a custom-fit dress or shirt, taking accurate measurements. With the scanner and computer-aided design software (CAD), one can also create engineered prints that allow for adjusting how the print falls on a person.
"The body scanner can also help to develop new apparel sizing standards that reflect the size and shape of the current population. The 4-D aspect of the scanner can look at how people move in their clothes. This would allow for the development and testing of protective uniforms and other apparel,” she said.
"The body scanner could help when designing uniforms for firefighters, law enforcement officers or even dancers to make sure clothes fit properly and move the way they need to,” according to Ms. Romeo.
Body scanners will help do away with using human beings in the fashion industry as models to test the fitting of garments. This would help less wastage of fabric, with more accurate measurements.
