If you're shopping for clothes online, there are already a number of services you can use to make sure that the garment you're ordering will fit properly. If you're shopping for glasses, however, things get a bit trickier. Additionally, it's important to know whether or not the glasses will look good on you, even if they do fit. That's why Australia's CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) has developed the Smart Vision system.
The system is already in use by Glasses.com, under the name of 3Dfit Technology.
To use it, you start by loading the 3Dfit app onto your iPad (assuming you've got one), then using the tablet to take photos of your head as you look straight ahead and off to either side. The software uses those images to create a 3D model of your face, based on up to 66 facial tracking points.
You then enter the Glasses.com online store, and try out various styles and sizes of glasses on that model. Your onscreen image will appear to be wearing the glasses, and can be panned back and forth so you can see what they look like (on you) from a variety of angles. It's also possible to slide them up and down on your face, so you can see if they let you pull off the scholarly professor and/or naughty librarian look.
Additionally, you can conduct side-by-side comparisons, by simultaneously viewing multiple images of your face wearing different glasses. You can also send or share those images online, to get feedback from family and friends before making a purchase.
A demo of the 3Dfit app can be seen below.
Source: CSIRO
