Automatically Segmenting Cylindrical Projections of the Human Head

Modern anthropometric studies involve the use of high resolution 3D range and colour scanners to digitise the human body. This technology has the potential to make anthropo-metric data acquisition more precise than the traditional approach of using a tape measure, ruler and protractor. It also poses a new challenge: to acquire anthropometric data without the need for a skilled operator. If we can achieve the goal of fully automomous anthrometric data acquisition, there is enormous potential for applications in areas such as law enforcement and security as well as the obvious beneet of making anthropometric research more accurate and less time consuming. This paper outlines a novel approach that has been implemented to automatically segment the cylindrical projections of the human head that 3D range and colour scanners produce. This segmentation is necessary before anthropometric features can be detected automatically.