Using Web3d Technologies to Visualize and Analyze Caesar Data

The CAESAR (Civilian American and European Surface Anthropometry Resource) project completed in 2002 has collected 3D scans of over 5000 subjects. We have created several 3D visualization tools, utilizing the Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) to provide 3D access via the Web. In addition to simply viewing the 3D scans we have augmented the display of the body with interactive anthropometric landmarks and contour line displays. We have also demonstrated several different techniques for adding motion to the static 3D scans. The use of motion capture data, in particular, opens up new avenues for anthropometric research as applied to a number of engineering design tasks.