Ergonomic Evaluation using Motion Capture Technology : Testing Truck Ingress using Microsoft Kinect

Scania’s department of Physical Vehicle Ergonomics (RCDE) aims to create a more user– friendly cab by designing the environment to meet drivers’ needs, capabilities and limitations. Different tools and methods are used for ergonomic evaluations, where digital human models are commonly used in early stages of the product development process. This master thesis aimed to investigate how motion capture technology can be used as an ergonomic assessments tool in the product development process of Scania truck cabs.A background research included a literature study, interviews, observations and visits to research institutes with established motion caption system. The gathered information led to three defined goals for a motion capture system to fulfill in order to be implemented at RCDE. The goals were: to develop a method for objective measurements of ergonomics, to develop a time efficient method where real user movements can be analyzed, and to enable earlier verification of ergonomics in the product development process.There are many different systems for motion tracking, where the Microsoft Kinect sensor was chosen to be tested together with the digital human modeling software IMMA (Intelligently Moving Manikins). The results show that the system using the Kinect sensor and IMMA software can be used for digital analysis of body motion. The system does not require much set up time, it is portable and the sensor is available for a low cost. A person can be captured with no need for special clothes or markers to be placed on the body, however tighter clothes are shown to be more successful than loos fitted. The system’s tracking ability is acceptable in simpler tasks, but limited to many types of motions of interest for analysis of truck cab ergonomics. The systems performance depends on several variables such as lighting, distance and type of movements. The system’s performance is not yet fully reliable, but there are several ways of improving its accuracy. There are also many other systems that can be used for ergonomic evaluation.This thesis shows that ergonomic simulations with digital human models can be improved by using motion capture technology. It allows analysis to be based on data collected through real human motion, saving time and money while making sure that the data is objective and represents the movements of real users. The data can help ergonomists, engineers and designers to create and develop better products with human factors in mind.Validerat; 20150702 (global_studentproject_submitter