Digital human models for ergonomic design of products

Ergonomic simulation uses digital simulation techniques to evaluate the ergonomics of a product or workstation in the form of digital mock-ups. The digital mannequin (DM) is one such tool, which has followed the evolution of CAD (Computer-Aided Design) software. Its purpose is to represent the future operator or user of the product, to simulate his or her activity, and to evaluate his or her interactions with his or her environment, in order to deduce information on the constraints experienced. The main benefit of ergonomic simulation is to reduce design time, and hence costs. Being able to set up a digital mannequin and carry out any relevant tests to correct product inconsistencies, well upstream in the design phase and without recourse to a physical mock-up, can help avoid errors that are often very costly when detected late. The same applies to workstation planning for a production line in a digital factory.

The first digital mannequins appeared in the 1960s, and the first commercial software in the late 1980s. Since 1998, the Digital Human Technologies and Standards (G-13) committee of the Society of Automotive Engineering (SAE) has organized an annual conference dedicated to digital human modeling, Digital Human Modeling, bringing together 100 to 200 participants (researchers, software publishers, end-users) and providing an opportunity for players in this technology to exchange advances in human modeling to answer questions posed by the industry. SAE decided to stop organizing this event in 2009. A DHM community was born, and took over with the help of the "Human Simulation and Virtual Environments" technical committee of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA). The first DHM conference was organized by IFSTTAR in Lyon in 2011.

Considerable progress has been made over the last ten years, particularly in the field of anthropometric and movement modeling, thanks to large-scale research projects. These include the CAESAR (Civilian American and European Surface Anthropometry Resource) project, which scanned some 2,500 Americans and 2,500 Europeans, providing a vast amount of three-dimensional anthropometric data. A number of research consortia have also been formed to solve the problem of the lack of biomechanical data and to advance digital mannequin simulation technology in Europe, the USA and Japan:

• HUMOSIM (HUman MOtion SIMulation) at the University of Michigan, since 1998. This consortium, made up of several industrial partners, is essentially developing a data-driven approach to motion simulation. A large number of movements have been collected;

• European projects REALMAN (2001-2004) and then DHErgo (2008-2011). Both consortia bring together the automotive (Renault,...