New Delhi For more than a decade, the Government of India has been striving to facilitate the people of this country to go to the mall and buy the right fitting Indian size shirt, trousers or dress, not a poorly fitting garment. . A modified version of another country’s standardized size.
The Ministry of Textiles is developing an India-specific standardized size chart for the textile and apparel industry with the help of National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and 3D body scanners, while the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi (IIT-Delhi) has developed a new Delhi-based DeepTech. Signed a deal with startup MirrorSize to use an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered app to achieve a similar goal, but with a different approach.
In March 2018, the Ministry of Textiles announced that NIFT would conduct a study to come up with a size chart for Indians and complete the project in 2-3 years. The cost of the National Size Survey of India project was estimated at: ₹31 crore, with contribution from Ministry of Textiles ₹21 crore and the rest NIFT. The chart was to be prepared with the help of a 3D scanner, which would take computerized body measurements of 25,000 men and women aged 15 to 65 in six cities- New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Shillong and Hyderabad. The project work is in progress.
MirrorSize will not use bulky and expensive 3D body scanners. Instead, it hopes to do the trick with the help of a 3D body measurement app that provides accurate body measurements instantly using AI, advanced computer vision, deep learning models and mesh processing.
Arup Chakraborty, founder and CEO of MirrorSize, said, “Our patent-pending technology uses a combination of image processing and data analytics to display body measurements to the user while using the app as skin-tight or regular clothing.” allows.”
The MirrorSize app, available on iOS and Android devices, also shows users their 3D avatars. Installation of 3D body scanners is usually limited to shopping malls and other public places because of its size and cost. However, the app can be downloaded and used by anyone from the comfort of their homes on their smartphone.
Once the MirrorSize app captures the data, “IIT-Delhi will use data analytics and statistical modeling to come up with 60 standard sizes for all body types in India. By the end of this year, the app will be ready for use.” Hoping to be ready”, said Deepti Gupta, Professor in the Department of Textiles and Fiber Engineering at IIT-Delhi.
He said that people usually think of sizes as small, medium, large and extra large. However, “our system will come with 50-60 very customized sizes for textile and apparel manufacturers”, she said.
According to Gupta, one of the reasons for introducing so many sizes instead of four standard sizes is that a ‘standardized size’ would require approval from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). Second, Indians living in different geographical regions of India have different body types. Third, clothing can be produced not only to meet different body types but also according to the size requirements of a specific industry.
Gupta said that IIT-Delhi will need the support of the government and industries to popularize the use of the app. “We do not have any external funding. We will encourage our own students to start using the app,” she said. “We hope the industry will come forward and also provide incentives to the users to use the app voluntarily,” she said. Delhi will not make the app available for children. “We will start with the age group of 25-45. We will ensure that the data of potential users is protected, however they volunteer for the project,” said Gupta. said.
The outlook is different, but the projects of NIFT and IIT-Delhi augurs well for companies that are involved in the textile and clothing industry.
Mis-fitting or odd-sized clothing is not good news for e-commerce firms and malls, as users typically return such clothing either in person or by courier, adding to the supply chain costs of these firms. . Furthermore, designers are forced to take customers’ measurements as per US or UK size charts and convert them to Indian scale before manufacturing the garment, adding to their cost and worry. Existing projects have the potential to reduce the need for changes and returns due to poorly fitting clothing.
Countries that have successfully completed the National Size Survey include the US, Canada, Mexico, the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Korea, China and Australia. With the help of such projects, India can soon join this select band.
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