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BBC News 2004/01/27 Virtual dummy to try on clothes Sweaty battles with tight jeans in cramped fitting rooms could be consigned to history if new technology developed by Toshiba hits the shops. It has teamed up with a Japanese software company to develop a 3D system which will create a virtual you, who can try on clothes and move as you do. Video cameras snap the shopper, then clothes and accessories are selected and displayed immediately. The system is still at an early stage, but it could in use by 2006. It could be a revolutionary concept for men - and many women - who loathe the experience of shopping and trying on clothing. Online reality The process of turning the images of the shopper into photo- realistic avatar - or virtual representation - happens in real-time. This means the system, which Toshiba is jointly working on with Osaka-based Digital Fashion, could cut down unnecessary time wasted wriggling in and out of garments, and prevent impatient finger-tapping of waiting friends and partners. There are already some similar simulators used in Japan and other countries, which can display how a new hairstyle or make-up technique might look. But this is a big step on from those systems. "Today's systems display clothes on a virtual mannequin, or on a virtual mannequin that is combined with an image of the customer's face," Mitsuo Saito, chief research fellow at Toshiba, explained to BBC News Online. "They are static. Make-up simulators already in use show only the front view, 2D information." By producing a moving, flexible 3D representation, the effect is far more realistic. Toshiba expects it to give a huge boost to online shopping too. Instead of choosing clothes from photographs, with little idea of how they would actually look on you, the system could be adapted for home use allowing people to dress their virtual selves online. Suits you As well as the 3D effect, the developers said they are aiming to make the results look as real as possible. With fast- moving improvements in graphics technology, they hope this will be achieved. "Think of the progress made by video games in recent years," Mr Saito said. "In football software, for example, players and their movement become more realistic with every generation of products. We want to achieve the ultimate: a virtual reality for trying clothes." Toshiba thinks the system would be equally useful for people who would like bespoke tailoring, or who are choosing garments for special occasions. "One area where it is bound to prove useful is helping brides and grooms in selecting from many different dresses and suits," said Mr Saito. Although, many women find the thrill of trying on as many dresses as possible adds to the wedding shopping experience. More likely, if a man walks into a tailor, he could choose a suit style from a database, stand in front of a display, and see his realistic avatar dressed in his selection. "If he raises his arm, the image will raise its arm, and the virtual suit will also follows this movement, with the realistic creasing and shadowing as it does," said Mr Saito. "As the customer does this, he can change design features, to make sure that he gets the suit he really wants." Links: http://www.dressingsim.com/DFL_en/
Press release from the Toshiba web site Toshiba Corporation and Digital Fashion Ltd. to Jointly Develop 3D Real-time Clothes Fitting and Makeup Simulator 22 January, 2004 Tokyo -- Toshiba Corporation and Digital Fashion Ltd. (DFL), an Osaka based developer of software for the fashion industry, today announced an agreement to create a 3- dimensional fashion simulation system that will allow virtual modeling and coordination of clothes, cosmetics and accessories in real time. The system will capture images of people, outfit them in the virtual clothes of their choice, and then display naturalistic images in real time, including movement of the person and the clothes. The system will provide a new level of IT-based support for trying, fitting, modeling and designing clothes, and for coordinating outfits with different styles of makeup and accessories. Toshiba is an industry leader in 3D image processing while DFL is a pioneer in applying digital know-how to the world of fashion, including clothes coordination and makeup simulation. In developing the new simulation system the companies will draw on their respective strengths to take virtual modeling of clothes and cosmetics to a new level. Toshiba will deliver expertise in image-processing hardware, software and LSIs, DFL the software for simulating clothing in real time. While current modeling and fitting systems present static, two-dimensional images of people trying on clothes, the new simulation system will offer 3D images in which movement in front of a display equipped with cameras is reproduced in real time, along with the textures, shades and real appearance of the chosen material and clothing. Using the simulation system will offer the same sense of reality as a real mirror. Commercialization of the system is expected in 2006. Powerful image processing is an essential technology for coming generations of products. In developing the new simulation system with DFL, Toshiba will take image processing to the next level in terms of capabilities and performance. Outline of Digital Fashion Ltd. Location: Osaka Established: January 2001 President: Yoshiyuki Sakaguchi Capitalization: 533 million yen Employees: 19 Business: - Development and sales of computer-related software and hardware - Design and consulting for computer graphics-imaged clothing - Information processing and information provider services - Development of planning and advertising for dress product sales Toshiba Press Contact: Corporate Communications Office Toshiba Corporation Tel: (03) 3457 2105 E-mail: press@toshiba.co.jp Digital Fashion Press Contact: Digital Fashion Ltd. Tel: (06) 6271 5560 E-mail: dsinfo@dressingsim.com Information in the press releases, including product prices and specifications, content of services and contact information, is current on the date of the press announcement, but is subject to change without prior notice.
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