Human Modeling & Simulation: A Primer for Practitioners

Abstract

More and more, digital human modeling and simulation is being used in conjunction with CAD systems to address ergonomic issues early within the development and manufacturing process. However, purchasing a human modeling software package does not guarantee a user-centered design anymore than purchasing a word processor makes someone an author. This paper addresses some of the practical issues that confront human modeling and simulation users, including the collection of geometry, posturing the manikin, and selection of an analysis. For the purposes of discussion, human simulation will be divided into three broad areas: the environment, manikin selection, and analysis.

Análise do uso integrado de um sistema de captura de movimentos com um software de modelagem e simulação humana para incorporação da perspectiva da atividade

“…In the present study, operating procedures for the integrated use of a motion capture system in virtual scenarios and a CAD software that includes digital human models were proposed. Considering the technical process to create virtual environments for human modeling and simulation, introduced by Ziolek & Kruithof (2000), the integrated system contributes to two relevant aspects: the first one is related to the simultaneous presence of digital models and a CAD system, in which the environments (geometries) are modeled and can be edited in the same environment. This fact facilitates the creation of human simulation since, unlike other simulators available on the market, import or export of geometries can be dispensed with.…”

“…Virtual environments of human simulation are defined by the relationship among the scenario, the digital human model, and the analyses (Ziolek & Kruithof, 2000), as shown in Figure 1.…”

“…The main feature of human simulation is being able is the positioning of digital human models in operators' real working positions or postures (Ziolek & Kruithof, 2000). Usually, the working posture set in the simulation is a representation of the future work that the software user has, but it does not illustrate the complexity of the future activity (Braatz et al, 2012;Zülch, 2012).…”

Guide and documentation system to support digital human modeling applications

“…In the future, as the number of tool users in each company increases; it may be necessary to develop a formal standardized process. Such a process should, according to Ziolek and Kruithof (2000), include: (1) a definition of the physical environment, (2) a definition of manikins, and (3) that the manikins should perform the analysis with a reasonable posture. Furthermore, Green (2000) suggests a generic process for human model analysis including the following seven major steps: (1) understanding the task, (2) understanding the work environment, (3) understanding the worker population, (4) understanding the limits of the software used, (5) performing the analysis, (6) analyzing and applying judgments to the results, and finally (7) reporting the results of the analysis.…”