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SIMULATION AND EVALUATION OF FACTORY WORKS
USING MUSCULOSKELETAL HUMAN BODY MODEL

Takako Sato, Hiroshi Arisawa

Graduate School of Environment and Information Sciences, Yokohama National University,
79-7, Tokiwadai, Hodogayaku, Yokohama, 240-8501, JAPAN

ABSTRACT

Optimum design of work motions is one of the most important issues to construct human-machine
co-existing systems. Traditional Ergonomics tried to evaluate pain/fatigue on an observation base.
However, generic evaluation method does not exist and Ergonomics has not discussed the mechanism
of pain/fatigue. So we proposed individual musculoskeletal human model and proposed
Info-Ergonomics concept. This paper overviews Info-Ergonomics concept and focuses on modeling
and description of musculoskeletal human bodies.

KEYWORDS

Human Body Modeling, Musculoskeletal Model, Human Motion Simulation, Ergonomics, Human
Body Database

1. INTRODUCTION
Ergonomics is one of the fields which pursues the physiological and physical comfortability of various
human works, such as factory workers, sports players, and rehabilitation patients. Among them,
optimum design of work motions is one of the most important issues in human-machine co-existing
systems. Traditional Ergonomics have been facing this problems from the viewpoint of measuring
characteristics (i.e. human body shape, weight of each body segment, range of motion of joints) of
human bodies. Then they evaluate pain/fatigue on an observation (questionnaire) base. However this
approach has many problems. First, generic method to formalize human bodies and to describe
problems do not exist. Specific model and methods have been developed in case by case. Second,
Ergonomics are just observing correlation between human posture/motion and pain/fatigue, but have
not discussed the mechanism of pain/fatigue.
On the other hand, if we can construct precise musculoskeletal human body in the individual level, we
can simulate bone muscle action by captured posture/motion and evaluate pain/fatigue in a series of
works.
So we proposed individual musculoskeletal human model "BBHM" (Bone Based Human Model) and
proposed Info-Ergonomics concept, which means "Information model based Ergonomics".
This paper overviews Info-Ergonomics concept firstly, then will be focusing on modeling and