Parametric human modelling to determine body surface area covered by sun-protective clothing

Solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is the main environmental risk-factor for cancer of the skin. Sun-protective clothing provides a physical barrier that reduces the UVR dose reaching the skin and European and Australian standards for sun-protective clothing set minimum clothing coverage requirements. Body Surface Area Coverage by clothing (BSAC) is calculated by means of indirect or direct methods, which are laborious and do not support computer-based apparel design. To support the sun-safe specification and design of garments, parametric digital human models and protective clothing mesh covering the minimum Body Surface Area specified in AS/NZS 4399:2017, were created making use of MakeHuman v1.1.1 and Blender software. The Whole Body Surface Area (WBSA) and the BSAC were calculated employing code developed in Blender. Thus, different groups of subjects were analysed to explore BSAC. The method assists in the evaluation of exposed body areas in a wider spectrum of different occupations. Practitioner summary: Sun-protective clothing provides a physical barrier that reduces the UVR dose reaching the skin’s surface. Body Surface Area Coverage (BSAC) by clothing is an important determinant of the sun protective capabilities of a garment. In this study, BSAC is calculated using parametric digital human modelling

A Conceptual Framework of DHM Enablers for Ergonomics 4.0

Industry 4.0 lends itself to an ecosystem of human factors and ergonomics (HFE) related new concepts, such as Mining 4.0, Safety 4.0, Operator 4.0 and Ergonomics 4.0 which we studied here. Industry 4.0 refers to system elements such as Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) and Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR), connections through the Internet of Things (IoT) and storage on Cloud Platforms (CP) to facilitate Cognitive Computing (CC) analysis and knowledge extraction. While the Industry 4.0 concept is centred around data, it also provides a platform to integrate the human operator with other elements of a system. Industry 4.0 and Ergonomics thus appear integrated and suggest the development of an Ergonomics 4.0 concept. This study searched and reviewed publications focusing on the enablers of Ergonomics 4.0. We identified their main elements and relationships with a focus on Digital Human Modelling (DHM). We systemized, clustered and synthesized the reviewed information and generated a taxonomy of Ergonomics 4.0 under the lens of digital human modelling using semantic analysis. We conclude that Ergonomics 4.0 is an essential part of Industry 4.0 and that DHM is a key enabler for Ergonomics 4.0

Estimation of body surface area coverage by garment items: different approaches using mesh base modelling

Digital Human Modelling can be applied to determine skin exposure to sun as a factor in modelling risk of skin cancer. To determine body area covered by clothing (BSAC), a variety of garment data must be overlaid with the human model. Two approaches, one based on creation of clothing using MakeHuman add-ons in Blender, and the other based on the import of data are exemplified. Results are compared with data from Zhang [6]. We found that a scalable library of garment elements, assembled to typical apparel is a feasible way to model clothing. We conclude that valid BSAC could be determined