Role of Artificial Intelligence for Noninvasive Height Measurement Applications: A Survey

Height measurement is crucial across various domains including healthcare, ergonomics, security, and forensic analysis. Traditional methods, such as stadiometers, often require cooperation from the subject and can be intrusive, posing significant challenges especially with children, the elderly, or individuals with disabilities. This survey paper addresses the growing need for artificial intelligence (AI) based noninvasive, automated height measurement techniques that can effectively estimate height without physical interaction. In this paper, we examined different state of the art methodologies for height measurement application area, including AI, computer vision (CV), deep learning (DL), depth imaging, and 3D laser scanning. While 3D scanning and depth imaging methodologies provide precise measurements, but they require specialized equipments which leads to additional costs for implementation. Recently, DL and advanced CV models have shown great accuracy in height estimation. Promising solutions for uncooperative subjects can be found by utilizing facial recognition and anatomical traits, and incorporating biometric parameters which can improve prediction accuracy. Despite these advancements, challenges remain with methods requiring multiple images or additional equipment, underscoring the need for more practical and user-friendly solutions. This survey highlights the necessity for tailored approaches to address specific measurement challenges and proposes guidelines for future studies to improve efficiency of noninvasive height estimation technologies.