Three-dimensional human head modelling: a systematic review

ABSTRACT

Human head is one of the most important parts of the body, as it houses brain and other sensory organs, which controls functioning and working of the whole body. The products used for head and face are designed for functions like protection, information transfer, healthcare or to improve the aesthetic appearance. In order for them to serve their purpose, they need a close fit and in order to make it more ergonomic, user's comfort also needs to be addressed, thereby making it necessary to acquire accurate anthropometric data for ergonomic product design. Traditional techniques involve manual measurement using tapes, callipers and scales which normally have low reliability and low accuracy. With the advancement in image processing and computer aided designing and modelling techniques it has become possible to develop highly accurate and reliable 3D head and face model. Following paper presents a systematic review of different approaches that have been proposed for developing 3D head and face model and also the techniques used in processing and analysis of 3D data and their limitations. The paper also presents application of head and face models for ergonomic product design.

KEYWORDS:

• 3D modelling
• human head
• 3D scanning
• anthropometry
• alignment

Acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank the continous support from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Disclosure statement

No conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The study was financially supported by the RGC/ECS [grant number F-PP2P].

Notes on contributors

Parth Shah

Parth Shah is a PhD student working on 3D head and face modelling of Chinese people at the Asian Ergonomics Design Lab in School of Design at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His key areas of interest include Ergonomics, product design, biomechanics and orthotic and prosthetic design.

Yan Luximon

Yan Luximon obtained her PhD in ergonomics from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. She is currently an Assistant Professor and the Asian Ergonomics Design Lab leader in the School of Design at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She is also the Council member of the Hong Kong Ergonomics Society. She has been active in design research and teaching. She has published several book chapters, patents, international conference papers and peer‐reviewed journal papers.