The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) is using The Human Solutions Vitus XXL 3D scanner, since last 18 months, to take the body specifications of the troops. The scanner can take full body measurements in just 10 seconds.

The people of New Zealand are huge and their armed forces are one of the tallest in the world. The body data they receive from the Five-eyes allies is therefore not very reliable.

The 3D scanner is being used to carry out anthropometric operations to collect the body sizes of 1,100 defense personnel to analyze their sizes and accordingly decide which troop members can be accommodated in its limited headroom helicopters. As of now, these measurements help in selecting the uniform, boots, and other equipment for the soldiers.

The NZDF last carried out a vast measurement campaign of the soldiers in 1965. It manually measured the body parts of 458 Air Force personnel using tape measures and skin-fold calipers. It took the anthropometrist around one hour per personnel. Using The NZDF’s Vitus XXL scanner, which is named after a Sicilian saint and manufactured by German company Human Solutions, body measurements can be easily taken in just 10 seconds with a ±1 mm level of accuracy. The machine is two meters tall.

As per the requirements of the NZDF, the candidates have to strip down to body-hugging underwear, after which the 3D scanner is launched and performs a full scan. A second scan is also taken with the soldier in complete attire. The scanner’s red lasers scan the personnel until a complete 3D image is formed. The measurements automatically calculate all the data the anthropometrists need.

New Zealand has total of 14,277 defense troops in its army, navy, and air force. Andy Richardson group director, human systems, NSDF stated that the data collected will help them to understand the changes happening in the statistics of our Defence Force personnel, and will further enable them to take better decisions regarding future operations.

Source: 3ders.org