Nov 3, 2015 | By Kira

Body Labs, the New York company dedicated to collecting, digitizing and organizing the most advanced 3D data and technology for analyzing the human body, today announced that it has raised $8 million in Series A funding which it will use to aggressively grow its engineering team, accelerate product innovation, and expand its leadership in the 3D body modeling space through platform and hardware integrations and a focus on retail space. Intel Capital led the funding, with participation from FirstMark Capital, Max-Planck-Innovation GmbH, Osage University Partners, Catalus Capital, as well as the company founders and some employees.

Though we often take it for granted, the human body is perhaps the most complex, technologically advanced machine that exists, and as hardware, software, and the Internet of Things continue to evolve, customized wearables tailored to perfectly fit and enhance our bodies’ capabilities will become the norm. Anticipating this not-so-distant future, Body Labs wants you to see your body as more than a ‘meat suit’, but as the main interface that controls and interacts with products and services in your everyday life, whether you are purchasing clothing, going to the doctor, or sitting in a chair. “Forward-looking companies can now confidently design and deliver products and services that are specifically suited for their customers’ particular body shapes,” said Bill O’Farrel, co-founder and CEO. “Mass customization around human body shape is fast becoming a reality, and we are playing a vital role in how goods and services are designed, manufactured, bought, sold and recommended.”

Their technology goes beyond 3D scans to create the most accurate mesh-based digital models of the human body in all its various shapes, poses and possible motions. Their products and services—including could-based platform BodyHub, their collection of BodyKit APIs, and BodySnap, an app that leverages the Microsoft Kinect to create 3D body models from anywhere—essentially transform the human body into an accessible 3D digital platform. This platform can then be compared, averaged, or analyzed in order to create everything from bespoke retail clothing to video game characters to fitness tracking, customized medical engineering, and population analytics.

“Our technology makes it possible to automatically, accurately and cost-effectively deliver human shape as a digital platform,” said O’Farrell. The $8 million in funding will enable Body Labs to strategically invest in its technology, including new UI capabilities, additional platform and hardware integrations, and a continued focus on the retail space in collaboration with Intel. Managing Director for New Business for Inet’s Preceptual Computing Group, Mark Yahiro, said that with the funding, Body Labs will be commercializing their technology, and making it more accessible than ever.

Going beyond 3D scanning, which leaves holes and can be innacurate, Body Labs' models are built off template mesh which is then deformed during the alignment process to correspond accurately with the initial scan data

A woman's body scan is captured by a Microsoft Kinect depth sensor

Intel Capital has a wide and diverse investment portfolio, having invested in companies offering hardware, software, and services targeting computing and smart devices, the Internet of Things, and wearable and robotic technologies. As the main investor in Body Labs Series A funding, it will be interesting to see where they take this innovative, 3D body modeling technology. Despite the funding however, Body Labs technology has exclusive licensing agreements with Brown University, where the technology was originally developed, and the Max Planck Institute’s Perceiving Systems Group, where continued advances in the body modeling area are being made.

Although possibilities for enhancing our lives through 3D body models are exciting; from making online shopping that much easier, to the creation of customized medical equipment and software, it’s still somewhat scary to imagine a future where sophisticated and exact 3D models of our bodies, absolutely indistinguishable in terms of shape, size, contours and movements, will exist online. The human body is a marvel, as as this sophisticaled 3D body modeling technology exists, we'll have to stop taking it for granted and begin to appreciate it that much more.

 

 

Posted in 3D Software

 

 

Maybe you also like:


   


l.fidder@me.com wrote at 5/17/2016 4:23:26 PM:

Hello I read in this article about shopping 3D. Is there an online shop who uses 3D-shopping?



Leave a comment:

Your Name:

 


Subscribe us to

3ders.org Feeds 3ders.org twitter 3ders.org facebook   

About 3Ders.org

3Ders.org provides the latest news about 3D printing technology and 3D printers. We are now seven years old and have around 1.5 million unique visitors per month.

News Archive