We are excited to publicly launch HumanShape.app, a radical new approach to anthropometric analysis for design. The field of applied anthropometry is stuck in the 1950s, with nearly all anthropometric data that is used for product design coming from univariate statistics published in a book or tech report. Although body scanning has never been cheaper or easier, conducting good 3D anthropometry surveys is still costly and difficult. More importantly, tools for actually using 3D body shape data are almost nonexistent. The vast majority of 3D anthro studies are really just 1D studies, except that the measurements are taken from scans rather than by hand. This approach neglects nearly all of the information from the scans.
Through decades of work with 3D human data, we've developed a deep array of methods and a rigorous understanding of design processes that use human data. We're now rolling out a public-facing framework based on our methods. Here's a presentation describing the motivation and approach to HumanShape.app, our new online framework for human-centered product design. The app provides access to high-resolution, 3D shape models based on accurate scan data from thousands of adults and children. Critically, users can define and instantly measure any dimension they want across the entire population -- no more being limited to the variables someone else thought might be important. The analysis capabilities go far beyond length, breadths, and circumferences, including generating custom regression models based on the variables that are important for a particular design, creating boundary cases on user-defined variables, and conducting multivariate accommodation assessments. Check out our YouTube channel for an overview of the functionality and contact us for a demo. If you design products that physically interact with people (clothing, helmets, earbuds, headsets, masks, respirators, goggles, gloves, body armor, shoes, chairs, vehicle seats, ...) this approach can dramatically improve both the speed, accuracy, and outcomes of your process.
Access to HumanShape.app is available by subscription. Contact usto learn more.
