Validation of a novel 3D scanning method for determination of the air gap in clothing

Nowadays, methods to determine the air gap thickness based on the 3D body scanning lack an extensive evaluation of the measurement uncertainty imposed by the scanner and computational algorithms. In our study, we propose an evaluation strategy for full body scanning techniques using two 3D scanners: Vitus XXL and Artec MHT. The performance evaluation of the 3D scanner together with the accompanying post-processing method included the repeatability of the 3D scanner for complex anatomic shapes, and determination of fabric thickness and contact area. Our newly developed method, which includes scanning, post-processing of scans and the determination of distance between skin and garment surfaces, is highly repeatable in case of both scanners (up to 1 mm depending on the scanner). The method can account for the thickness of fine fabrics of the same thickness magnitude as the scanner accuracy, which resulted in accurate determination of the garment contact area. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.