Personalization of a Human Body Model Using Subject-Specific Dimensions for Designing Clothing Patterns

Virtual human body models contribute to designing safe and user-friendly products through virtual prototyping. Anthropometric biomechanical models address different physiques using average dimensions. In designing, e.g., personal protective equipment, orthopedic tools, or vehicle safety systems, biomechanical models with the correct geometry and shape shall play a role. The presented study shows the variations of subject-specific anthropometric dimensions from the average of the different population groups in the Czech Republic and China as a background for the need for personalized human body models. The study measures a set of dimensions used to design clothing patterns of Czech children, Czech adolescents, Czech adults, and Chinese adults and compares them to the corresponding age average, which is represented by a scaled anthropometric human body model. The cumulative variation of the dimensions used to design the clothing patterns increases the further the population group is from the average. It is smallest for the Czech adults at 7.54 ± 6.63%; Czech adolescents report 7.93 ± 6.25%; Czech children differ be 9.52 ± 6.08%. Chinese adults report 10.86 ± 11.11%. The variations from the average of the particular dimensions used to design clothing patterns prove the necessity of having personalized subject-specific models. The measured dimensions used to design the clothing patterns serve as the personalization of particular body segments and lead to a subject-specific virtual model. The developed personalization algorithm results in the continuous body surface desired for contact applications for assessing body behavior and injury risk under impact loading.