What pops into your head when you hear the words “body measurement”? Whether it’s an old yellow tape that you wrap around your waist at home, a professional tailor doing his job, or a doctor’s office and its routine health check-ups, one thing is for certain — most people still think of it as a lengthy, physical process that has been the same ever since the dawn of the first civilizations.
But what if we told you that was all a thing of the past, and the future of body measurement lies with the rapidly advancing field of artificial intelligence? Let’s take a look at what AI-powered body measurement is, how it works, and how it can actually help you with your business.
What is AI-powered body measurement, and how does it work?
Let’s start by defining the key term: AI-powered body measurement is a technology that uses artificial intelligence (machine learning and computer vision, to be specific) to accurately capture, analyze, and interpret certain dimensions and characteristics of the human body. In essence, a pre-trained model extracts body measurements through certain sensors (like your phone’s camera), after which you can use this data for whatever purposes you want to. It sounds simple, but there’s a lot going on in the background that makes the accuracy and effectiveness of solutions like Esenca possible. Let’s dive a bit deeper into how this all works.
At the core of all of this, as we mentioned, is Machine Learning (ML). Through ML algorithms, AI-powered body measurement systems can learn about the diversity and different characteristics of human body shapes and sized — this is possible by training these machine learning models on vast datasets that house a large number of demographic factors, making sure that the system itself can make nuanced predictions and measurements regardless of who the images are taken of. Of course, it doesn’t end there — as users interact with the solution, the ML system continuously refines its predictions, enhancing its ability to give tailored and accurate measurements over time.
The second factor we’ve mentioned is computer vision (CV), which is a similarly crucial part of AI-powered body measurement. CV tech enables machines to interpret visual information from sensors or images (and / or videos). In the specific context of body measurement, CV algorithms can identify important anatomical landmarks and measure the distances between them with incredible precision. Through this, these tools can have a comprehensive understanding of the user’s body shape and size, and can operate in real time, making the process as user-friendly and intuitive as possible.
In addition to CV, there is one last thing that is necessary for all of this to work: image processing. At first glance, image processing tech can sound similar to CV, but where computer vision involves learning from data and aims to automate tasks that human vision can perform, such as object and image recognition, image processing focuses on manipulating and enhancing visual information in images in a more heuristic, trial-by-error fashion. This means filtering, sharpening, or enhancing contrast in order to make the images used more suitable for actual measurement. In this sense, the last two technologies work hand in hand to provide the best possible outcome for the measurement process.
There are many other technologies that can be incorporated into these solutions — for example, we at Esenca put heavy emphasis on intelligent guidance, so as to get the best possible results as well as user experience — but at this point, you’re probably wondering how these solutions can be used in the real world. Let’s see!
Real-life applications and benefits of AI-powered body measurement
AI-powered body measurement technologies have come to be transformative tools in many industries with a wide array of applications. Our personal best examples are the workwear / uniform industries: since precisely fitted clothes are crucial for an immense number of people working everyday in factories, restaurants, military service, schools, and so on, these two industries rely on accurate measurements and the garments that come from those measurements on a level few others do. With AI-powered body measurement solutions like Esenca, workwear and uniform providers can cut down on costs such as trial run expenses and all day measuring events, all the while streamlining their entire service and reducing their turnaround times drastically.
But it’d be silly not to mention the obvious: the fashion industry is yet another giant demand generator, with e-commerce shops still defining the post-COVID era we’re living in. The option of having an AI-powered body measurement tool integrated into an online webshop can eliminate the endless cycle of returning ill-fitting clothes, reducing return rates by up to 60-70% in our experience. In addition to this, virtual try-on solutions that are powered by tech like this can bring the fitting experience to the digital realm, allowing customers to try on clothes before making a purchase, and provide them with an overall better customer experience.
Of course, the health industry is another great example of one that can benefit from these solutions: healthcare professionals can leverage precise body dimension in order to provide more accurate medical assessments, as well as bespoke medical garments, for example, compression socks. Diagnosing and monitoring conditions related to body size and shape such as obesity and malnutrition can also be done remotely and in a more efficient way. In addition to this, they can also help with monitoring patients’ body movements during rehabilitation, helping physical therapists customize treatment plans for optimal outcomes.
While these are the main applications we see used nowadays, the list of possibilities goes on: AI-powered body measurement could be used for the future of AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality), scanning people to create realistic avatars in the virtual space. It could also be used in biometrics and security, taking each person’s body measurement into account when granting access in certain security settings. Many industries, such as the automotive, ergonomics and workplace design, and other ones, could utilize tech like this to create bespoke configurations for people, whether it’s for cars, seats, or even desks.
If these examples tell you the general idea, but you’re still looking for actual benefits that would convince you to adopt a solution like Esenca, we’ve got you covered: check out this next blogspost of ours, which outlines the top 5 reasons why your business needs AI-powered body measurement solutions.
If you want to learn more about Esenca, visit our website, and follow us on X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, and Facebook as well. If you’d like to try out Esenca, don’t hesitate to head over to our sign up page, and get started with a free trial today.
