Abstract: Embodiments of the inventive apparatus, including the associated data collection and processing methods, may be used to measure and evaluate various characteristics of a fabric or other material. Those characteristics may then be used directly or indirectly (such as after being subjected to further data processing, signal processing, machine learning, statistical analysis, etc.) to populate one or more parameters of a mathematical model of the fabric/material or a garment constructed from the same. Data obtained from operation of the inventive material scanner may be used to construct or refine mathematical models (such as by using data mining, curve fitting, or machine learning techniques) and/or provide values of one or more parameters used by existing models.

Abstract: Systems, apparatuses, and methods for generating an on-line/eCommerce based garment viewing, selection, and sizing service that includes a virtual shopping experience capable of being initiated by activating an embedded uniform resource locator (URL) from an arbitrary web-based application or browser. The inventive system includes elements and processes that may be used to generate realistic images and behavior of a user's digital facsimile and associated clothing and/or accessories under different environmental viewing conditions (such as lighting, shading, etc.). These elements and processes may include mathematical/computational models of fabric appearance at both larger and smaller scales, fabric motion under conditions of wind or movement of a person wearing a garment, fabric reflectivity, garment seams, stylistic elements, etc.