Högskolan i Skövde

Occupant packaging design is usually done using computer-aided design (CAD) and digital human modelling (DHM) tools. These tools help engineers and designers explore and identify vehicle cabin configurations that meet accommodation targets. However, studies indicate that current working methods are complicated and iterative, leading to time-consuming design procedures and reduced investigations of the solution space, in turn meaning that successful design solutions may not be discovered. This paper investigates potential advantages and challenges in using an automated simulation-based multi-objective optimization (SBMOO) method combined with a DHM tool to improve the occupant packaging design process. Specifically, the paper studies how SBMOO using a genetic algorithm can address challenges introduced by human anthropometric and postural variability in occupant packaging design. The investigation focuses on a fabricated design scenario involving the spatial location of the seat and steering wheel, as well as seat angle, taking into account ergonomics objectives and constraints for various end-users. The study indicates that the SBMOO-based method can improve effectiveness and aid designers in considering human variability in the occupant packaging design process.

This paper presents an interview study aiming to understand the state of the art of how ergonomics designers work in the vehicle development process within the Swedish automotive industry. Ten ergonomic designers from seven different companies participated in the interview study. Results report the ergonomics designers' objectives, workflow, tools, challenges, and ideal work performance tool. We identify four main gaps and research directions that can enhance the current challenges: human behavior predictions, simulation tool usability, ergonomics evaluations, and integration between systems.

The paper reports an investigation conducted during the DHM2020 Symposium regarding current trends in research and application of DHM in academia, software development, and industry. The results show that virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and digital twin are major current trends. Furthermore, results show that human diversity is considered in DHM using established methods. Results also show a shift from the assessment of static postures to assessment of sequences of actions, combined with a focus mainly on human well-being and only partly on system performance. Motion capture and motion algorithms are alternative technologies introduced to facilitate and improve DHM simulations. Results from the DHM simulations are mainly presented through pictures or animations.

Digital human modelling (DHM) is a tool that allows humans to be modelled in three-dimensional CAD. An almost infinite variety of humans can be modelled and families of so-called manikins can be created to act as virtual user groups, evaluating the interactions between humans and products, workplaces and environments. This chapter introduces the concept of DHM, its use of, and reliance on, anthropometric data from national populations and showcases two exemplar tools in SAMMIE and IPS IMMA. Case studies are presented that highlight the advantages DHM can bring to understanding the requirements of designing for the ageing population; covering designing for the ageing workforce, the exploration of transport accessibility and how users can generate representative manikin families to properly represent the diversity of people. DHM is demonstrated to be a powerful tool for practitioners aiming to understand and design for people, including older people within society.

In this paper, we detail research and development of data-driven personas in the IPS-IMMA digital human modelling system. Semi-automatically generating personas for working with user experience (UX) aspects of the Operator 4.0 side of Industry 4.0 is suggested as a viable approach for contributing to operator well-being and diversity by supporting workstation designers to take these factors into account early in the workstation design process. These data-driven personas are being developed to be generated using anthropometric data from the manikin family generation module of IPS-IMMA. Specific design suggestions are presented, what should be taken into account and how that will be implemented, and the current state of development of the data-driven personas module is discussed. Prototypes are planned under the coming year.

Some anthropometric measurements, such as body weight often show a positively skewed distribution. Different types of transformations can be applied when handling skewed data in order to make the data more normally distributed. This paper presents and visualises how square root, log normal and, multiplicative inverse transformations can affect the data when creating boundary confidence ellipses. The paper also shows the difference of created manikin families, i.e. groups of manikin cases, when using transformed distributions or not, for three populations with different skewness. The results from the study show that transforming skewed distributions when generating confidence ellipses and boundary cases is appropriate to more accurately consider this type of diversity and correctly describe the shape of the actual skewed distribution. Transforming the data to create accurate boundary confidence regions is thought to be advantageous, as this would create digital manikins with enhanced accuracy that would produce more realistic and accurate simulations and evaluations when using DHM tools for the design of products and workplaces.

When considering vehicle interior ergonomics in the automotive design and development process, it is important to be able to realistically predict the initial, more static, seated body postures of the vehicle occupants. This paper demonstrates how published statistical posture prediction models can be implemented into a digital human modelling (DHM) tool to evaluate and improve the overall posture prediction functionality in the tool. The posture prediction functionality uses two different posture prediction models in a sequence, in addition to the DHM tool´s functionality to optimize postures. The developed posture prediction functionality is demonstrated and visualized with a group of 30 digital human models, so called manikins, by using accurate car geometry in two different use case scenarios where the sizes of the adjustment ranges for the steering wheel and seat are altered. The results illustrate that it is possible to implement previously published posture prediction models in a DHM tool. The results also indicate that, depending on how the implemented functionality is used, different results will be obtained. Having access to a digital tool that can predict and visualize likely future vehicle occupants’ postures, for a family of manikins, enables designers and developers to consider and evaluate the human-product interaction and fit, in a consistent and transparent manner. © 2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.