Supported by funding under the seventh Research Framework Programme of the European Commission.
Small and medium-scale focused Collaborative Project
Duration : 36 months
Why DHErgo
In order to evaluate the physical aspects of a product or a workplace in its early design stage, a design engineer will insert a digital human representing one critical target user of the product in the CAD (Computer-Aided Design) environment at first, then simulate critical postures or movements and evaluate how the target user will judge it in terms of visibility, accessibility, ease of use, etc… Ideally, the design engineer would also like to be guided by the recommendations of the DHM simulation software for modifying the design and finding a compromise without degrading the ergonomic demand. Since a product like an automobile can be used by thousands even millions of people, the design engineer has to consider the variability of user population. People vary not only in body dimension and shape (anthropometry), but also in physical capacity (body strength and mobility). The variability in postural and motion control has also to be considered in simulation. Often the design engineer has to answer the question what percentage of the whole target population (e.g. German car drivers) is accommodated for a specific task under consideration, like car ingress and egress for instance. Among the population of the drivers, there are more and more elderly people. One has to take into account their specific needs due to aging. However, currently available digital human simulation tools are still far from the designer’s expectations especially in terms of motion simulation and evaluation of motion related discomfort. Interdisciplinary research efforts have to be continued not only for realistic motion simulation but also for understanding and predicting posture and motion related discomfort. Relating the perceived discomfort with design parameters through human/product interaction simulation is a fundamental requirement for ergonomic applications.
