Detectors Develop Into High-Tech Tailors
Kenneth J. Kaufmann, Hamamatsu Corp., Bridgewater, N.J.
Clothing manufacturers have long recognized that a completely automatic measuring system could revolutionize the apparel industry. Not only could a consumer be sure that mail-order clothing would fit, but he or she could also view a digital representation of how they would look when wearing a particular garment.
However, digital measuring systems have been too expensive for general use, partly because it is difficult to provide accuracy across the wide range of possible human shapes. Recently, however, engineers have incorporated new position-sensitive detectors into a scanner and software package that is used in the manufacture of women’s undergarments…