With the help of a 3D mannequin, Tom Dumoulin's team is confident that he will nab the gold medal in the Union Cyclist International (UCI) Road World Championship.
Team Giant-Alpecin and Delft University of Technology worked together to help create the skinsuit of the Olympic Silver Medalist. According to Reuters, the University used photogrammetry to scan the Silver Medalist's body to create a 3D mannequin that's a replica of his body. They used the mannequin as a model for skin suits that best fit Domoulin's physique. After that, they put the mannequin to a bicycle where they test the skin suit's durability on a wind tunnel.
Researchers explained that the wind tunnel was under a controlled environment with a specific velocity flow. They also used a technique called Particle Image Velocimetry, where they put the particle in the wind tunnel then illuminate these particles with a laser.
They then took images of these particles where they measure the displacements of this particles to determine the field velocity, pressure ad aerodynamic drag. Website RooieJoris explained that the researchers gathered a lot of data from the digital images they gathered from Domoulin.
Jouke Verlinden, one of the researchers, explained that they used 150 DSLR camera to take simultaneous photos of Domoulin's body. Verlinden explained that they used inexpensive 3D printers that allowed them to create the mannequin in eight parts. The researcher explained that it took around 50 hours to finish the entire mannequin.
Daan Bregman, another researcher, explained that this technique could be used to test the olympic medalist's equipment. He explained that they are going to use the mannequin to test his aerodynamics capability. It will help them figure out what would be the best helmet to use for Domoulin under different weather conditions. He also added that it will give them the opportunity to test different equipment for Domoulin without bothering him on his training sessions.
