WHOLE BODY SURFACE SCANNER FOR DESIGN OF PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

We propose to design, implement and test the feasibility of a full body surface digitizing system to be used for anthropometric studies and design of protective equipment. Resolution, speed, coverage and accuracy of three dimensional (3D) optical surface scanning will be defined. A generic whole body scanner will be designed, and a software simulation system will be implemented and used to test the design and to evaluate alternative system configurations. We propose to develop and test our technique based on a non-contact, optical, multi-sensor range scanning technique that digitizes the entire surface in less than one second. This device employs "white light" pattern projectors and employs no harmful ionizing radiation. This approach allows the digitization of complex surfaces with the use of appropraite sensor (digital cameras and light beam projectors) configuration. Multi-resolution data, depending on the requirement, can be collected for different surfaces simultaneously or separately and integrated together to provide one comprehensive data set describing the body surface. The expense of collecting anthropometric methods used presently. 3D surface data of the human body will provide accurate anthropometric measurements useful in the design and evaluation of advanced aircraft and modern personal protective equipment systems.