Ergonomic Design of a Workplace Using Virtual Reality and a Motion Capture Suit

Abstract

Musculoskeletal disorders are some of the most frequent manual work disorders. Employers worldwide pay high costs for their treatment and prevention. We present an innovative method for designing an ergonomic workplace. This method uses new technologies and supports not only ergonomics, but also a general improvement in the designing of the manufacturing process. Although many researchers claim that there is a huge potential for using new disruptive technologies like virtual reality and motion capture in ergonomics, there is still a lack of a comprehensive methodological basis for implementing these technologies. Our approach was designed using the expert group method. We can validate the manufacturing process and the ergonomics using a motion capture (MoCap) suit and a head-mounted display (HMD). There are no legislative restrictions for the tools which are used for ergonomic analyses, so we can use our outputs for workplace scoring. Firstly, we measure the anthropometrics of the proband. Then the proband is immersed in virtual reality and they go through a manufacturing process during which ergonomics data are collected. The design of a particular workplace or multiple workplaces can be validated based on the reactions, measurements, and input in real-time. After processing the data, the workplace can be adjusted accordingly. The proposed method has a time and economic benefit for workplace design, optimisation of workplace ergonomics, and shortens the time required for designing the production line layout. It also includes optional steps for validation using conventional methods. These steps were used for method validation on a representative workplace using on-site experiments. We validated it on a group of 20 healthy operators working in automotive production (age 22 to 35). A comparison study describes the classic methods of workplace ergonomics evaluation, compares the classic evaluation using biomechanical analysis, modern evaluation using a MoCap suit, and connection with virtual reality. We have proved the validity of the method using the comparison study. The results also showed other potential issues which can be further examined: like the role of peripheral vision or haptic feedback.

Metaverse in the Virtual Workplace

“…However, the question remains how the immersive environment of the metaverse can be supported to enhance the performance of virtual teams. Health is addressed in the metaverse both in terms of physical health-for example, ergonomics of the working environment (Kačerová et al, 2022;Mcgill et al, 2020) and mental health (Ho et al, 2022). Mystakidis (2022) claims that the metaverse is facing several challenges such as the physical wellbeing of users, psychology (such as information overload).…”

“…Remote working also improves the performance of the organizations by the possibility to access talented people worldwide (Aldag & Kuzuhara, 2015;Marques et al, 2021). Remote working has its advantages, such as a high degree of flexibility in the day's scheduling (DeRosa, 2009) and a certain autonomy in the execution of individual tasks (Ryan & Deci, 2017), but also disadvantages-necessary information and communication technologies (ICTs) and ergonomic equipment for work (Gilson et al, 2015;Kačerová et al, 2022;Mcgill et al, 2020), impact of remote working on wellbeing of the employee, or, for example, unclear legal basis for remote work in some countries, including tax rules (Tyutyuryukov & Guseva, 2021). Remote workers are often joined into virtual teams, who collaborate through ICTs and rarely meet face-to-face (Aldag & Kuzuhara, 2015).…”

“…Another problem is that the source of information is often internet blogs, newspapers and interviews rather than academic and peer-reviewed literature (Adhyaru & Kemp, 2022; Kačerová et al, 2022; Kalischko & Riedl, 2021). Moreover, metaverse in the workplace is emerging but is not well established as a proper research category yet.…”

Research on Dance Motion Capture Technology for Visualization Requirements

“…In the process of dance digitization, data acquisition is a prerequisite and foundation. Only after the data information has been collected, the data information can be presented through the subsequent virtual display platform [13]. At present, dance data collection mainly includes three parts: frst, "collecting dance materials."…”

Ergonomics Applied to the Development and Evaluation of Insoles for Protective Footwear

“…Biomechanical data are essential to help the ergonomic study of a product or environment, as they can help to highlight and to quantify causes of perceived discomfort of system users [8]. For instance, Lin et al [9] evaluated the biomechanics of the standing and sitting positions workers used during working time, identifying that different postures adopted for the shoulder and forearm between workstations and the presence of greater postural variability in the standing position increase shoulder rotation and extension patterns that could be associated with working problems.…”