Amazon wants to know your body better, so the online retailer bought Body Labs, a New York-based startup that specializes in 3D body scanning and modeling software for fashion and gaming applications. Body Labs confirmed the deal on its website, but details of the acquisition have not been disclosed. A TechCrunch report estimates that Amazon bought the startup for anywhere between $50 million and $70 million.

Multiple videos and demos on the Body Labs website show its software in action: its "SOMA" API can be used to depict human 3D motion and shape, making it ideal for fashion, gaming, and other business applications. Companies can use it to "accurately predict and measure the 3D shape of your customers using just a single image," and it's no secret that Body Labs developed this technology for retailers (among other types of companies) to use to better know customers' bodies. Whether it's a fashion brand getting the right fit for any customer using a mobile app or a gaming company looking to make customizable, virtual characters using AR, Body Labs' software appears to make it easier for those companies to personalize parts of the experience to every user.

It's currently unclear what Amazon will do with Body Labs. It's possible that Amazon will use Body Labs' employees and expertise to improve its fashion business, something CEO Jeff Bezos is dedicated to pursuing. Recently, the company has begun funneling more resources into developing its own private-label fashion brands, and it launched Amazon Wardrobe earlier this year. This service lets Prime users try on clothing before they buy it and return items they don't want. As Body Labs mentions in a video, minimizing returns by ensuring customers get the right fit before they order is good for any fashion retailer.

It's also possible that specific Body Labs technology could be integrated into existing Amazon systems. The company released the Echo Look earlier this year, a home camera meant to take fashion-focused selfies and suggest the best styles for your body. Body Labs' technology could potentially be incorporated into the Echo Look so the camera can understand the shape of your body, suggest styles you may be interested in, and more accurately suggest sizing preferences for you. The technology could also be used to let customers virtually try on an outfit before buying it, take a selfie with the virtual outfit on, and ask friends and family for their opinions.

Body Labs also already uses its technology in a more fun, accessible way in an app called Mosh. Powered by its SOMA "human aware AI," the mobile app lets users transform "photos of people into 3D characters or interactive environments." Some applications look similar to Snapchat filters that move with your facial expressions, but Mosh takes it one step further by letting you do things like transform your arms into tentacles that move based on your real movements.

We may not see a consumer-facing feature in Amazon apps or devices using Body Labs technology immediately, but Amazon will likely use the startup's expertise to gather fashion data. Fit and sizing data is crucial to fashion companies for developing patterns and styles—the more data Amazon has about its customers' bodies, the easier it will be for the company to make its fashion offerings better and more accurately tailored to each customer.

Listing image by YouTube, Body Labs