Amazon is looking for volunteers in New York who will let their bodies be measured, scanned, and photographed in exchange for a $25 gift card.
Amazon Body Labs, a tech startup acquired by Amazon in 2017, is in need of people who are willing to get themselves be digitally scanned for an ongoing study about the diversity of human body shapes.
Interested individuals will be given a 30-minute appointment, where they will answer a survey and then 3D scanned in everyday attire and in "form-fitting" clothing. Photos and videos of the participants will also be taken.
The company clarified that the data that will be gathered will be used solely for an internal research and not for any marketing purposes. All responses provided by participants will be subject to Amazon's Privacy Notice.
Once volunteers complete their appointments, they will be given an Amazon.com gift card worth $25.
People can visit Amazon Body Labs' website to sign up for the study.
Amazon's Body Shape Study
One of Body Labs' first projects as part of Amazon was to produce three-dimensional models of people's bodies for shopping and gaming research.
This time around, it appears the tech company is planning to use its body scanning technology for products such as Amazon's Echo Look. Customers can use Amazon's service to take photos of their favorite clothing and have them analyzed by a software to get some fashion advice.
Adding 3D images of people's bodies could allow users to virtually try on the clothes that they want to buy online. Companies have been trying to come up with such a technology for years.
While Amazon Body Labs is extending the invitation to almost anyone in the United States willing to visit their two New York offices, people from Illinois might not be able to cut. The state has recently adopted strong biometric privacy protections, which would make it difficult for Illinoisians to take part in the study.
Amazon Body Labs
Body Labs' platform uses a comprehensive set of data taken from thousands of 3D scans of people's bodies. The concept came about after company co-founder Michael Black wanted to create statistical model of the human body, which he could use to teach a course on computer vision at Brown University.
However, before Black could even begin his course at the university, the Virginia state police asked his help in solving a robbery and murder case. They needed to use computer vision to identify the perpetrator in a surveillance video taken of the crime.
Computer vision allowed Black and his team to vindicate some of the evidence in the case, such as the suspect's height.
Now that Body Labs has become part of Amazon, the company could use its 3D scanning techniques to design clothing for specific body types. The technology could also be used to offer mass customization of clothing, which would shorten design cycles.
One example of this is for tracksuits for sprinters. Body Labs could collect measurement data of customers and then apply it to inform the design of the apparel. This would help produce better fitting tracksuits.
