2007, Piran, Slovenia

Environmental Ergonomics XII
Igor B. Mekjavic, Stelios N. Kounalakis & Nigel A.S. Taylor (Eds.), © BIOMED, Ljubljana 2007
STUDY ON GIRDLE BASED ON INTERACTIVE 3D BODY SCANNING
Wen Bi Zhang, Ping Xiao, Jun Lli
Contact person: Xiaoping@mail.dhu.edu.cn
INTRODUCTION
Girdles are used to modify the shape of the lower body. For optimal fit and freedom of
movement of girdles, it is necessary to extract key parameters of body shape.
Many anthropometric studies have been carried out to analyse the shape of the human body
using three dimensional (3D) scanners that can capture detailed images of sections of the
body, or the entire body. This information can also improve fitted-design girdles. Ashdown et
al. (2004) tested the effectiveness of using 3D scans of clothed participants in the fit analysis
process, and created databases of scans of a variety of body shapes and sizes. Simmons and
Istook (2004) described body shapes and proportions of the present population in North
America, and provided a theoretical framework for the development of an expert shapesorting
system using 3D body scan data. Sugita (2002) studied the effects of girdles on
comfort in elderly females using 3D human body measurements.
Girdles have been demonstrated to affect cardiac output (Watanuki, 1994), via changes in
blood pressure, and heart rate (Nagayama et al.,1995), and also the balance of sympathetic
and parasympathetic nervous activity. Sugita et al. (2002) studied the effects of wearing a
girdle in static subjects, by comparing the measurements of clothing pressure, heart rate, skin
temperature, electroencephalogram (EEG) with those obtained in subjects not wearing a
girdle. The main aim of these studies was to investigate the functional performance of girdles
based on body shape, comfort and physiological responses. Information regarding the
pressure effects of girdles is lacking. Recently, Fan and Chan (2004) presented a method for
the prediction of clothing pressure of girdles using a manikin.
The purpose of this study was to analyse shape factors of the lower body and relate them to
the structure of girdles, based on geometric features and physiological structure. The results
of such an analysis may assist manufacturers of underwear.
METHODS
A randomly chosen sample of 800 female subjects participated in the study. They between the
ages of 18 and 60 years, and resided in East China. Twenty-six measurements were extracted
from 3D scans of participants using a 3D body scanner ([TC] 2, USA). These included linear,
angle, width and girth measurements, such as waist height, abdomen girth, hip width, back
hip slope angle, etc.
Scans were conducted in a 3D scan laboratory where the temperature was controlled at
25 ± 2°C and relative humidity at 60 ± 10%. Each subject entered the laboratory at least 5
minutes prior to the start of the experiment, so that she could change her garments and
become accustomed to the experimental environment.
On the basis of the analysis of the relationship between the functional construction of girdles
and the shape of the lower body, we propose six shape factors based on physiological features
of the lower body. These six factors reflect the shape of the waist, abdomen and hip, and were
used to derive three indices shown in the formulae below:
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