Ergonomics Evaluation Using Motion Capture Technology—Literature Review

Abstract

Due to the increasingly high proportion of manual activities in production processes, there is a constant risk of musculoskeletal disorders or work-related injuries. The risk of these problems is exacerbated by the trend towards an ageing working population. European legislation is pressing for improved working conditions to eliminate the risks associated with health problems for workers. For this reason, the application of ergonomics in this field is growing. Musculoskeletal disorders, which are most often caused by inappropriate working postures, are a major problem. There are many methods for evaluating working postures. However, there is a high degree of subjectivity in the risk assessment. Motion capture kinematic suits can ensure the objectivity of the assessment. This article discusses research on ergonomics assessment using motion capture technology. A systematic literature search method was used for the research, beginning with the determination of the research procedure, through the definition of the research queries, to the formulation of the research itself to identify relevant sources. The study presents the most widely used methods for assessing the ergonomics of work positions using motion capture technology, their advantages, and disadvantages. It also follows the trend in the number of publications between 2010 and 2022 in countries where the topic is most frequently addressed and in the industries where motion capture technology is used for ergonomics assessment in general. The research showed that this approach is most often used in industry and logistics, and less frequently in healthcare and sport. The authors agree that the most frequently used ergonomics assessment methods are not complex enough to be used in combination with motion capture and that a combination of the two is needed. At the same time, this technology has become very important in the field of ergonomic evaluation of work positions, offering a higher degree of objectivity, or can be combined with the use of virtual reality, but the evaluation systems are still not error-free and there is a need for continuous improvement.

The Use of Motion Capture Technology in 3D Animation

“…At this stage, the conceptual approach involves integrating research findings, interpreting data, and forming a cohesive conclusion. Researchers must ensure that the [51], [52], [39] [53], [54], [45] [46], [48], [49] [40], [55], [56] [50], [57], [58] [42], [59], [60] [61], [43] synthesis of findings is based on the conceptual framework developed earlier and is relevant to the research questions.…”

“…Integrating technology that understands context can enhance the system's ability to recognize movements in different situations, whether in a virtual environment or the real world. The development of smaller, lighter, and portable MoCap sensors can improve accessibility and enable their use in various contexts and locations [51], [52], [53], [54], [46], [40], [59], [61]. These challenges, along with other issues such as the need for accurate calibration and noise mitigation in data, create complexity in developing an effective and accurate MoCap system for 3D animation.…”

Safety Standards And Their Relevance for Ergonomic Risk Assessment in Slovak Republic

“…However, there is a high degree of subjectivity in the risk assessment. Motion capture kinematic suits, motion sensors applied on the body can ensure the objectivity of the assessment [29][30][31].…”

Online Ergonomic Evaluation in Realistic Manual Material Handling Task: Proof of Concept

“…The MMH ergonomic assessment is carried out in an observational manner using the NIOSH method to calculate the risk indices. A digital ergonomic assessment is fundamental to deliver a more consistent risk evaluation [19][20][21][22]. From the literature, several works [22][23][24] aim to evaluate the ergonomic risk associated with the upper limbs for human-robot interaction purposes.…”

“…From the literature, several works [22][23][24] aim to evaluate the ergonomic risk associated with the upper limbs for human-robot interaction purposes. Some studies provide an online risk evaluation, but they use equipment that is not well suited for real adoption in industrial scenarios, such as force sensors to calculate ground reaction forces [20], high-resolution cameras for motion capture [19], or box sensing to track the movement of boxes [25]. More recently, Lorenzini et al [26] have suggested evaluating ergonomic risk factors using robotics-inspired indices.…”