Body Scanning

I'm definitely going to look at the idea of body scanning for my Designs Futures project.
After talking with Sam Butler, I have looked into 'gait-recognition' technology as well as facial scanning.
The idea of gait-recognition was really interesting. Gait-recognition recognises the way people move, and can tell who a person is from about 500m (as long as they have been recorded on the system anyway). The government in America are trying to develop gait-recognition technology for known terrorists, so that in a busy airport, or building or whatever, they would be able to detect a terrorist by their movements, and then inform security or the police to have the suspect followed. I don't know if they will also use this technology to pick up on movements which are out of character or erratic for a 'normal' person.
I have considered gait recognition in relation to my body scanning booths. I was thinking about incorporating a running machine in the booth, so that as well as scanning the person's body, their gait could also be recorded. This could then produce a realistic 3D model of your-self walking on your computer screen. If I then used the body scanning booths in relation to clothing, not only would a consumer be able to see themselves visually in 3D trying on the different clothing, but they would also be able to see themselves walking in the clothing, which would help them to see the drape of the clothing, whether their movements were restricted etc. Combine this with a facial scanner, and I don't think you would have a way of knowing how you would look in an item of clothing without visiting the shop and trying it on.
Clothing wouldn't have to be the only thing that a body scanning booth was used for though. It could also be used in relation to health. To scan the body and get a 3D image, the booth would use radio waves, as this would allow them to remain fully clothed. However, there is no reason why the booths couldn't also use MRI scanning. The MRI scan could then also be stored on your profile, for a radiologist to look at. By looking at a full body scan, a radiologist would be able to diagnose the following; ailments of the brain, including tumours and dementias, sports injurys, musculoskeletal problems, most spinal conditions or injurys, vascular abnormalities, female pelvic problems, posture problems, some gastro-intestinal tract conditions, certain ear, nose and throat conditions, and soft tissue and bone pathology/conditions. This would be good for people who are scared of going to the doctors, or surgerys etc, but it would also be good from the medical side of things, as they would be able to build up a much larger database, from many different demographics of people.
However, an MRI scan isn't something that people should have just for the sake of it. There are some people who should not have MRI scans, for example people with pacemakers, or women who are pregnant, so there would have to be sufficient health warnings for this. There could be a choice in the booths on entering. If you do have any of the ailments listed in the health warnings, you could use the booths purely for the clothing side of things, and the booth would then know to scan you using radio waves only.
I've got an image in my head as to how I would like the booths to look, so I need to get this developed in photoshop before my presentation.
I've looked at the current developments of body scanning for clothing fit, and it is on the horrizon, but currently, the 'try-on' models which are available, are very computerised, and are designed more for style selection and not sizing. You take your own measurments, which could be taken wrongly, ie; someone measuring their waist might not take the measurement on the right part of their waste. Once you've measured, the online applications give you a predetermined set of measurements, and you then choose the closest - which could be quite far off. You can also then generalise features, ie; blonde hair, green eyes etc to develop a general image of yourself . You then select clothes and 'try them on' to see what they look like on your 'virtual self', and if you like the way that tehy look, then you can buy them. However, you don't know if they'll actually fit you when they're delivered, and as you don't look that much like your 'virtual' self, you don't really know if they'll suit you either. But if you had a 3D scanned image of yourself, including all your facial features, hair-cut etc, that looked exactly like you, and walked in the same way as you, you would know which size of item fitted you perfectly, and how it looked on you from all angles, and how it hung on your body when you're walking etc.