Three-dimensional articulated creatures are now becoming increasingly common in games, cartoons, movies, and even Internet shared worlds. Such characters entertain and excite our imaginations. But many applications require representations of more accurate human-like virtual beings, most notably, in engineering analyses, medical simulations, military and police training, team coordination, assembly and maintenance planning, and even education. I discuss the problems of creating accurately scaled human models that represent specific populations or individuals, and provide a glimpse of a possible future in which individuals can have models of themselves easily embedded in virtual worlds.
Norm Badler is a Professor of Computer and Information Science at the University of Pennsylvania, and directs the Center for Human Modeling and Simulation. Active in computer graphics since 1968 with more than 100 technical papers, his research focuses on human figure modeling, manipulation, and animation. His expertise includes real-time 3-D graphics, intuitive user interfaces, complex object modeling, and animation systems, and he is the originator of the Jack software system, now used at about 100 active commercial, government, and University sites worldwide.
(No presentation synopsis available at this time.)
Bruce Bradtmiller is President of Anthropology Research Project, Inc. He has been principal investigator for a number of projects, including the 1987 1988 anthropometric survey of the U.S. Army,which now serves as the standard for U.S. anthropometric surveys. Since assuming leadership of the firm in 1992, Bradtmiller has been instrumental in expending the company's client base to include all of the U.S. military services, a number ofauto manufacturers and the manufacturers of personal protective equipment.
This presentation will address the problems confronting designers and human factors researchers when attempting to use anthropometric data in computer based human figure modeling software such as Jack to document human interactions with designs. Several long-standing problems characterizing the usability of anthropometric data by designers will also be outlined.
Charles Burnette is Director of the Graduate Program in Industrial Design at the Advanced Driver Interface Design/Assessment Project at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, a program that focuses on developing integrated computer tools to support design and its assessment. His work includes research using anthropometrically defined figure models in dynamic interaction with virtual products and environments as well as the development of informational tools that structure and support the process of design. Dr. Burnette co-edited Designing for Human Behavior: Architecture and the Behavioral Sciences, a standard text.
This presentation will feature work in-progress to develop a "functional" anthropometry and associated tools for designing operator workstations. A more "functional" anthropometry provides information about the spatial relationships (i.e., in 3-D space) among all relevant anatomical landmarks for a selected population. A portable coordinate measurement machine was used to determine positions of anatomical landmarks of 40 subjects seated in two postures ("erect" and "comfortable") relative to seat landmarks, and Jack human figure modeling software was used to visualize the clusters of points representing the sample distributions of the various human landmarks in relation to the seats. The use of these data in operator station design will be described.
Jerry Duncan joined Deere & Company in 1978 and helped establish its off-road vehicle simulator and human factors laboratory. He provides human factors and ergonomics technical support to engineers and designers developing off-road vehicles and consumer outdoor-power equipment, and conducts research to identify and develop user-oriented product improvements. His activities include investigating the impact of vehicle automation on operator and system performance, investigating perception of vehicle operator comfort, developing new control concepts and multi-function information display systems, and developing a virtual prototyping technology applied to John Deere products and processes.
(No presentation synopsis available at this time.)
Kitty Pilarz has been Manager of Product Safety for Fisher-Price for the past 10 years after holding various engineering positions within Fisher-Price. She is responsible for the safety of toys, juvenile products, outdoor playground equipment, and licensed products. Ms. Pilarz is an active member of ASTM subcommittees for safety standards and is Chairman of the ASTM subcommittee on Gates and Expandable Enclosures.
(No presentation or biographical synopses available at this time.)
(No presentation or biographical synopses available at this time.)
This presentation will discuss the possibilities and visions for the future of engineering anthropometry. In engineering anthropometry, researchers must often translate among a 3-D body, one- or two-dimensional measurements, flat patterns or drawings, and back to 3-D forms. Advances in anthropometric technology are now making it possible to stay in a 3-D environment through all phases of product development from imagination to production. Apparel, automobiles, office furniture, sports equipment, and conceivably anything else people wear or use could soon be conceived, designed, and produced completely in a 3-D environment.
Kathleen Robinette is the Manager of the U.S. Air Force Engineering Anthropometry Program and is one of the leading international experts in engineering anthropometry with nearly 20 years of practical experience. She managed the development of the world's first automated three-dimensional (3-D) anthropometric surface digitization system in 1987, and conceived, organized, and served as a NATO appointed member on an international working group on 3-D Surface Anthropometry. She also pioneered the development of advanced sizing methods that are being adopted not only within the Department of Defense but by industry as well.
This presentation will discuss insights into current anthropometric needs based on selected application experiences involving children. These insights include methods to derive and estimate non-measured dimensions, new 3-D definitions of landmarks in surveys, and new measurements and new ways to analyze and report data. Emphasis will be given to facilitating computer human modeling as a tool for ergonomic simulation applications.
John Roebuck is a consultant on anthropometry who specializes in workspace design applications and computer human modeling anthropometric requirements. He co-authored Engineering Anthropometry Methods and wrote Anthropometric Methods as well as over 40 other publications and presentations, including workshops and technical papers. He has had more than four decades of experience in engineering and human factors in aerospace vehicle development, and was the responsible engineer for anthropometric and mobility requirements for the Apollo Command Module and the Space Shuttle Orbiter.
Ann and Andy are clip art manikins designed to accurately but simply meet the designer's needs. The talk will discuss the challenges of creating these manikins.
Barry Tillman has applied anthropometrics to human factors designs for industry, military, and NASA systems for 30 years. He was the author of the anthropometric chapter of NASA's first human factors standard and conducted a NASA study to forecast astronaut dimensions for the year 2015. Barry and his wife, Peggy, own HF Engineering, Inc. and have written Human Factors Essentials: An Ergonomics Guide for Designers, Engineers, Scientists, and Managers and the 2nd edition to the Human Factors Design Handbook. They are currently working with Anthropology Research Project to develop computer- based anthropometric tools for designers.
Sandy Ressler will discuss the creation of the AnthroKids web site and the development of tools to facilitate use of child anthropometric data. Issues concerning the display of data, visualization, and the use of the Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) as a mechanism to publish 3D data will be covered.
Sandy Ressler is manager of the "Virtual Environments and Visualization for Manufacturing" project and a member of the Information Technology Laboratory at NIST. He has been involved with a variety of computer graphics and user interface technologies for almost 20 years and is the author of three books most recently "The Art of Electronic Publishing" published by Prentice Hall.