Industrial Design and ergonomics

This paper presents an online ergonomic evaluation system for 3D product development with car interior design as an example, which consists of a 3D viewer, a digital human model, an ergonomic engine, and the web-based GUI's. The digital human is constructed with a number of templates based on anthropometry database that represent various levels of body size and shape for the end-user. The interactions between the human and a product model are captured by the viewer, and thus, simulate the user operation of the product. According to the Chaffin's biomechanical model, the ergonomic engine then computes the physical loads of body joints with the captured information. The result enables online evaluation of the product design from the ergonomic aspects. It also serves as a base of interactive product customization. This research is the first study that realizes the web-based ergonomic evaluation for 3D car interior design with no needs of high-end CAD systems or complex VR environment. In this manner, the human factor issues can be effectively taken into account at the early design phase and the costs of ergonomic evaluation will be significantly reduced.

Keywords

• Product design;
• Digital human model;
• 3D viewing;
• Ergonomics;
• CAD

Copyright © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Chih Hsing Chu attended National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan, and received his BS and MS degrees from the Mechanical Engineering Department. He worked as a visiting researcher for one year at the Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL), RWTH Aachen, Germany. He received his PhD degree in mechanical engineering at the Laboratory for Manufacturing Automation, University of California at Berkeley. His project work at Berkeley concerned Internet-based product design and manufacturing. He worked as a web applications engineer at RedSpark Inc., an Autodesk Venture, on development of web-based collaboration software. His past work experiences also include a research intern at DaimlerChrysler AG, Stuttgart, Germany, and a technical consultant for Standford Co. Ltd., Taoyuan, Taiwan. Prior to joining National Tsing Hua University in 2002, he was on the faculty of Industrial and Systems Engineering Department, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg. His research interests include product development, collaborative design, geometric modeling, CAD/CAM, and precision manufacturing. He is a Member of the SME, ASME, and PDMA.

Chien Fu Kuo is a PhD candidate in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Industrial Management, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, Republic of China. He received his bachelor degree in industrial design from National Cheng Kung University in 2002. His past work experience include a design intern at NOVA Design Co. Ltd., Taipei, Taiwan, a research intern at Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan, and a research intern at Ford Motor Company, Taoyuan, Taiwan. His research interests include computer aided ergonomics, digital human modeling, and product design.