Scanning for a body of evidence
By Emma Masters
In late August, 140 South Australians gave their bodies to UniSA
scientific research and lived to tell the tale. The volunteers were
participating in one of the biggest projects in the world today to
collect body dimensions data, and three UniSA Human Movement honours
students were there to help.
In a research project that is taking them around the country, Tim Kupke, Nathan Daniell and Mike Rogers are measuring Australian bodies using state of the art laser scanning technology and are relishing the rare opportunity to participate in world class research that will help many industries, from defence to clothing and textiles, to industrial design and sport.
The students are in charge of all scanning operations. They assemble
and disassemble the Vitus Smart Scanner, Australia’s most sophisticated
laser body scanning technology, which can be likened to a telephone
booth with an accompanying computer.
The students greet and register
volunteers, operate the scanner (which takes about 10 seconds to
complete a full body scan) and then use the computer to produce a full
3D body image – creating a picture volunteers can take home.
Their involvement in the study has impacted so much that both Tim and Nathan have changed their honours topics to now look at anthropometry (the measurement of the size and proportions of the human body). Nathan is looking at the validity of laser scanners in anthropometry, and Tim is researching land marking systems (points on the body) used in measurement surveys, from those done by hand to those used in the latest laser scanners.
Now scanning in Melbourne, they’ll also visit Sydney, the Gold Coast and Perth. When the students have finished their work, they will have scanned around 2000 bodies of all shapes and sizes, the first major survey of its kind since the 1970s.