Abstract: A support plate with a horizontal flat standing surface carries two posts, and is rotated about a vertical axis. A stationary triangulation measuring head having a camera and a light line projector, projects light lines, which are perpendicular to the plane of the support plate, onto a person who stands upright on the standing surface of the plate. Encoded, photogrammetrically evaluatable marks are arranged on the plate around the standing surface and on the post. Images taken by the camera during rotation of the plate are transferred to a computer to determine a three-dimensional shape of the person or of part of the person. Marking-free fields are arranged on the support plate and on the post. The computer determines the parameters of the triangulation measuring head to performs a self-calibration of the detection process based on positions of the photogrammetric marks and shapes of light traces on the marking-free fields.

Abstract: A method for selecting a shoe fitted to a foot from a plurality of shoes. For each shoe from the plurality of shoes, a dimensionally accurate outline of the footbed of the shoe is provided in electronic form. Further, for each shoe from the plurality of shoes, a dimensionally accurate outline of a section through the shoe, wherein the sectional plane runs perpendicularly to the footbed and along the way of largest foot length of a foot positioned in the shoe, is provided in electronic form. Further, an assembly for selecting a shoe fitted to a foot from a plurality of shoes including a data processing system with a database and an output unit, as well as an assembly for simultaneous representation of the footbed outline and the sectional outline to scale for a shoe corresponding to the method with two flat screens perpendicular to each other are provided.

Abstract: A sensing device having a sensing arrangement with a sensing end (32) for coming into contact with a surface to be scanned of a body (26), a camera (30), and a connecting device (34) for rigidly connecting the camera with the sensing end, the camera being arranged such that it can detect a surface (12) which is provided with marks suitable to be automatically photogrammetrically evaluated and on which the body to be scanned has been placed, when the sensing end comes into contact with different points of the surface to be scanned of the body. The sensing device further has a photogrammetric evaluation program for a computing unit (18), the computing unit being configured such that image signals generated by the camera can be routed to the computing unit and the evaluation program can calculate the 3D coordinates of the surface to be scanned from the sequence of recorded and transmitted image sections using the marks (22) suitable to be automatically photogrammetrically evaluated.

Abstract: A method is described for selecting, in a cost-effective and largely automated manner, best fit footwear with an optimally selected or individualized footbed. With the aid of a preferably multisensory foot scanner, the geometric three-dimensional shape of the foot and the plantar pressure image registered with it are determined at the same time. A database of digitized shoe interiors is used for determining, by means of a best fit selection, the series-produced shoe that best matches the 3D foot model.

Abstract: In a cost-efficient method and arrangement for 3D digitization of bodies and body parts, which produces dense and exact spatial coordinates despite imprecise optics and mechanics, the body to be digitized is placed on a photogrammetrically marked surface, a photogrammetrically marked band is fitted to the body or body part to be digitized, and a triangulation arrangement comprised of a camera and a light pattern projector is moved on a path around the body. By a photogrammetric evaluation of the photogrammetric marks of the surface and the band situated in the image field of the camera, and of the light traces of the light projector on the marked surface and the marked band, all unknown internal and external parameters of the triangulation arrangement are determined, and the absolute spatial coordinates of the body or body part are established from the light traces on the non-marked body with high point density and high precision without any separate calibration methods.

Abstract: A method of identifying footwear which best fits a customer's feet, includes the steps of digitizing the feet of a customer needing footwear with a 3D foot scanner and generating a numerical 3D model of the customer's feet, comparing, with a computer-based matching engine, the information of the 3D feet model with the content of a database containing numerical 3D models of the interior shoe shape of footwear available to be sold, producing a list of one or more best-fit footwear candidates to the customer and/or to the staff of a footwear shop and concluding the purchasing process or, respectively, aborting it in case of insufficient best fit footwear being found in the footwear stock available for selling.

Abstract: There is described a method and an apparatus for the optical 3D digitization of bodies and body parts which reveal non-visible regions which therefore cannot be detected by the 3D digitizer. A mechanical aid is fixed at these regions and protrudes into the measurement space visible for the 3D digitizer. On this visible part, it is provided with marks and is digitized together with the remaining, visible body parts. From the spatial position of the marks of these aids, important geometrical information of the non-visible parts, such as the spatial position, circumferential dimensions, etc., can be calculated, and the 3D model of the body or body part incomplete at these points can be completed therewith. Two applications from the field of orthopedics are described by way of example.

Abstract: A method for the three-dimensional, digitized sensing of the spatial shape of at least one foot of a person. The method includes: determining a desired position for the foot which is predefined by the footwear to be selected or fabricated; moving the foot to the desired position by means of a device which can preferably be adjusted using a motor; optical sensing and digitizing the three-dimensional spatial shape of the foot in the desired position. Furthermore, an arrangement by means of which at least one foot of a person is moved to a desired position and the spatial shape of the foot is digitized in a mainly contactless manner includes a bottom plate, a first support and a second support. The first and second supports are movable, preferably using a motor, parallel or perpendicular to the bottom plate to move the foot to the desired position.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for detecting the three-dimensional shape of an object (2) during which an object (2) provided with photogrammetrically evaluable marks (4) is placed on a surface (5) at a predetermined location. This surface is provided with additional photogrammetrically evaluable marks (6) that are arranged in a predetermined manner with regard to one another. The surface extends in such a manner that the additional marks (6) are arranged around the contact surface of the object located on the surface. A number of images of the object (2) are taken from different views so that, in addition to the object (2), the surface (5) is also at least partially depicted. The three-dimensional shape of the object is determined from the images with the aid of the markers (4) of the object and of the markers (6) of the surface (5) by using a photogrammetric method.

Abstract: A cost-effective method for detecting the three-dimensional shape of interior spaces such as footwear, prosthesis funnels, etc. is described. For this purpose the inner wall of the interior space is lined with a formfitting, elastic and photogrammetrically marked envelope (2), a series of overlapping recordings of said interior space marked in this way is produced with the aid of one or more imaging devices (4) and from this the 3D-shape of the interior space is determined using photogrammetrical methods. The invention describes various methods of lining the interior space, of guiding the imaging devices (9) into the different recording positions and of the type of the measurable interior spaces.

Abstract: There is described a photogrammetric method and an arrangement for the three-dimensional digitizing of bodies and body parts (26) which are covered with a marked, elastic cover (14), which comprises high-contrast marks which are photogrammetrically analysable, and which are photographed from different shooting positions. For the purpose, at least one camera (22) is moved around the body with a simple, inaccurate guide and images overlapping each other are taken from different positions in space to cover both the body and several of the marks (10) of the support (12). Methods of photogrammetry as well as digital image processing and pattern recognition provide precise space coordinates of the body to be digitized. One exemplary application is the digitizing of the foot/lower leg portion for the selection or custom manufacture of anatomically well-fitting footwear, the digitizing of the leg portion for the manufacture or selection of well-fitting compression stockings.

Abstract: There is described a method and an apparatus for the optical 3D digitization of bodies and body parts which reveal non-visible regions which therefore cannot be detected by the 3D digitizer. A mechanical aid is fixed at these regions and protrudes into the measurement space visible for the 3D digitizer. On this visible part, it is provided with marks and is digitized together with the remaining, visible body parts. From the spatial position of the marks of these aids, important geometrical information of the non-visible parts, such as the spatial position, circumferential dimensions, etc., can be calculated, and the 3D model of the body or body part incomplete at these points can be completed therewith. Two applications from the field of orthopaedics are described by way of example.

Abstract: For an automatic detection of the 3D shape of objects by photogrammetry, the background of the photogrammetric point markers is characterized by area markers which comprise a plurality of point markers and have a characteristic optical configuration that is expressed, e.g., in the color, shape, texture, or gray level of the surface area of the area marker. During the image processing of the photogrammetric images taken of an object, first the area markers and then the point markers present in the respective area markers are referenced in relation to one another. Instead of using area markers, a further embodiment uses constellation-type point marker arrangements, which are first referenced before the individual point markers forming the constellations are referenced. The method is particularly useful for the 3D detection of body parts which have been clad with an envelope marked in accordance with the invention, prior to the photogrammetric evaluation.

Abstract: A method of detecting the 3D shape of an object by photogrammetry, in which a plurality of photogrammetric point markers and a plurality of connecting markers are provided on the surface of the object, each connecting marker connecting a subset of the plurality of point markers with each other, with at least two different types of point markers existing that differ from each other in their optical configuration, and some of the point markers provided along a connecting marker are formed in such a way that the sequence of their optical configurations results in a predetermined code that characterizes the respective connecting marker, a plurality of photogrammetric images of the object are taken from different views, an image processing of the images is performed, in which first the connecting markers mutually corresponding to each other in the images are associated with one another using their respective code, and then the point markers connected with each other by the respective connecting marker are associat

Abstract: The invention relates to a method of detecting the 3D shape of objects, in which the object is pressed into a plastically deformable mass provided with markers adapted to be evaluated photogrammetrically. After removal of the object from the marked mass, a plurality of photogrammetric images are taken from different views, and the images are evaluated photogrammetrically, the 3D shape of the object being calculated using an association of the markers corresponding in the images. The invention further relates to a corresponding arrangement for carrying out the method and is particularly suited for the detection of the 3D shape of objects whose 3D shape changes under load. One example of this would be the measurement of human feet.

Abstract: In the automatic photogrammetric 3D digitization of a body or body part marked e.g. by an envelope provided with photogrammetric target markers, the camera employed for image recording has additional light pattern projectors added thereon which are fastened to the camera body and project geometrically simple structures such as points or lines onto the body. These structures, which are visible optically without the viewing image, facilitate the manual alignment of the camera and the positioning of the camera at the correct distance from the body in obtaining the numerous overlapping individual images required for photogrammetric evaluation. This manually predefined alignment facilitates the automatic association of the photogrammetric markers in the individual image pairs with the aid of image processing methods and allows it to be carried out more reliably on an automated basis. According to a preferred embodiment, the projectors are turned off in the actual image recording process.

Abstract: A cost-effective method for detecting the three-dimensional shape of interior spaces such as footwear, prosthesis funnels, etc. is described. For this purpose the inner wall of the interior space is lined with a formfitting, elastic and photogrammetrically marked envelope (2), a series of overlapping recordings of said interior space marked in this way is produced with the aid of one or more imaging devices (4) and from this the 3D-shape of the interior space is determined using photogrammetrical methods. The invention describes various methods of lining the interior space, of guiding the imaging devices (9) into the different recording positions and of the type of the measurable interior spaces.