Quantifying shape similarity of female upper body silhouettes based on 2D images

Abstract

Purpose

This study focused on how to quantify the similarities of body shape based on the front and side images, and a shape comprehensive index (I_SC) of female upper body shape based on 2D images was proposed.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 190 young women were shot for front and side images, and 18 shape parameters were automatically extracted, including seven angles and 11 ratio parameters. The coefficient of variation method was used to assign different weights for related parameters, and the I_SC was calculated to describe the body shape of each subject. Five cross-sectional curves of the upper body (e.g. shoulder, chest, waist, abdomen and hip) were selected for exploring the range of shape similarity.

Findings

According to the value of I_SC, if the difference among the subjects is within the range of ±0.02, their body shapes can be regarded as similar, and the subject with the minimum distance is considered as the most similar. Error results show that the error range of the angle parameter is from 0.2° to 3.6° and the ratio range is from 0.001 to 0.119. Moreover, the t-test value among the parameters of the similar body is above 0.05, indicating that there is no significant difference for the upper body shape of the similar groups.

Originality/value

This method can quantify body shapes with the upper body characteristics of young women instead of subjective judgment. The study can be extended to other parts of the body and can also provide a new thought for shape similarity retrieval based on 2D images.

Citation

Xu, K., Zhao, S., Zhang, J. and Gu, B. (2023), "Quantifying shape similarity of female upper body silhouettes based on 2D images", International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology, Vol. 35 No. 6, pp. 986-996. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCST-10-2022-0137