Sequestering Size: The Role of Allometry and Gender in Digital Human Modeling

Abstract

Biologists are aware that sexual dimorphism can result from size differences, shape differences, and differences in the relationship between the two (allometry), but the digital human modeling community has not fully incorporated this knowledge into their design procedures. Using landmark-based geometric morphometric methods and data from the CAESAR survey, we demonstrate that sexual dimorphism between adult males and females is the result of size, shape, and allometry differences between the sexes. Human sexual dimorphism is therefore far more complicated than is represented by standard design procedures, implying that using extreme percentile humans in design confounds male and female allometric differences, and will likely not accommodate all individuals.