A microcomputer application in engineering anthropometry

Computers ind. Engng Vol. 17, Nos 1-4, pp. 491-495, 1989 Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved

0360-8352/89 $3.00+0.00 Copyright © 1989 Pergamon Press plc

A MICROCOMPUTER APPLICATION IN ENGINEERING ANTHROPOMETRY

C. H. Lee and G. A. Shaykian University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida 32816

ABSTRACT A microcomputer program which predicts various anthropometric measurements from some basic measurements is presented in this paper. By the use of this program, engineers and designers can obtain necessary anthropometric data with a minimum amount of actual measurements. INTRODUCTION Ergonomics is the application of scientific information about human beings and scientific methods of acquiring such information to the problems of design (Pheasant 1986). It's objective is to fit the job to the human so that the fatigue and the possibility of making human error is reduced. Anthropometry is defined as a branch of physical anthropology dealing with human body measurements including body size, range of movement, and muscle strength (Ayoub 1986). In a man-machine system design, the mechanical function and the operator's body dimensions play an important role. Failure to provide adequate space can be critical to the performance of a system, as well as to the well being of the operator himself. For proper fit between man and machine, the acquisition of accurate anthropometric data is essential. Anthropometry p e r m i t s the designer to design a man-machine system which fit to the human. BACKGROUND There are basically two types of anthropometry, namely "static" and "dynamic". Static anthropometry deals with the measurements of physical features or characteristics of the static body. Examples include stature, the standing or sitting eye height, standing or sitting elbow height, elbowfingertip length, foot length and breadth, hand length and breadth, shoulder circumference, etc. For specific purposes, specific anthropometric features are measured. For example, 132 different features were measured for Air Force flight personnel in one sample. Various measurements of body feature and size can be used for many useful applications such as the design of seats, design of tables, workplaces, machines, and furnitures. On the other hand, dynamic anthropometry focuses on operational measurements of the human body while performing a task. For example, in operating a machine, not only does static anthropometric data apply in a design of the seating or standing arrangements in relation to the controls, but dynamic anthropometric data plays an important role in assuring that the controls are within the reach envelop of the operator. This is a function of arm reach and of body and shoulder movement. The range of movement of joints and the strength of various actions as well as measurements of reach or clearance made under functional conditions can be considered as some examples of dynamic anthropometry.

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Proceedings of the l lth Annual Conference on Computers & Industrial Engineering

The human a n t h r o p o m e t r i c m e a s u r e m e n t s are affected by several factors. Among them, the most important factor is human v a r i a t i o n such as race, sex, age, o c c u p a t i o n and long term changes. The U.S. p o p u l a t i o n includes more variety of races than any other countries in the world. A group of ten million U.S. citizens claimed 52 ancestries in the 1980 U.S. Census Bureau Poll. Male individuals are larger than their female c o u n t e r p a r t s and younger ones are u s u a l l y larger and stronger than older individuals with the peak at the age of 25 to 30 years. O c c u p a t i o n a l exposure over a long period of time and nutritional d i f f e r e n c e also contribute to the v a r i a t i o n s on human measurements. Therefore, the designers and engineers must use the data which applies to a p a r t i c u l a r segment of the population. There is a c o n s i d e r a b l e amount of a n t h r o p o m e t r i c data available in several data banks. The U.S. Air Force A e r o s p a c e Medical R e s e a r c h Laboratory compiled the a n t h r o p o m e t r i c data on U.S. Navy, Army, and Air Force Personnel (DOD 1980). The NASA also has a large amount of data on Air Force personnel which represents young, and healthy m i l i t a r y p o p u l a t i o n (NASA 1978). On the other hand, data on civilian p o p u l a t i o n for n o n - m i l i t a r y use is not well documented although the a p p l i c a t i o n s of civilian a n t h r o p o m e t r i c data for various purposes require the m e a s u r e m e n t s of civilian population. This is very time c o n s u m i n g and impractical for the designers and engineers. However, it is p o s s i b l e to predict many a n t h r o p o m e t r i c features from some basic m e a s u r e m e n t s such as stature and weight. A m i c r o c o m p u t e r p r o g r a m can be used to make such a prediction. McConville, R o b i n e t t e and Churchill (1981) d e v e l o p e d r e g r e s s i o n equations to predict some a n t h r o p o m e t r i c m e a s u r e m e n t s from others. They selected a sample which matches with civilian p o p u l a t i o n from the military p o p u l a t i o n and d e v e l o p e d the following equations for general n o n - m i l i t a r y use. Reqression

Equations

for Males

(all data in cm except weight

in pounds):

Eye Height, standing = (.9544 Stature) - 32.9 A c r o m i o n Height = (.927 Stature)-(.233 Sitting H e i g h t ) + ( . 0 4 2 Chest Circumference)-8.1318 Elbow Height = (.879 S t a t u r e ) - ( . 6 2 9 Sitting H e i g h t ) + ( . 6 7 4 Elbow rest ht.sit.)-2.0578 Knuckle Height = (.5536 Stature)-(.1982 Knee Ht. s i t t i n g ) - 9 . 9 6 1 Hip Breadth = (.688 W e i g h t ) + ( . 8 8 Sitting H e i g h t ) - . 0 0 6 2 F u n c t . R e a c h Forward = (.102 Stature)+(.497 Knee Ht. s i t t i n g ) + ( . 4 6 1 ButtockKnee Lth.)+10.4423 Vert. Reach Sitting = (.8883 Stature)+(.2525 Sitting Ht.)-39.7 Eye Height, Sitting = (.827 Sitting Ht.)+(.079 Elbow Rest Ht. sitting)+(.060 B u t t o c k - K n e e Lth.)-l.769 Acromion H e i g h t , s t t g . = (.202 Stature)+(.093 Sitting Ht.)+(.709 Elbow Rest Ht. sitting)-l.2814 F o r e a r m - H a n d Length = (.086 Stature)+(.298 Knee Ht. s i t t i n g ) + ( . 2 3 4 ButtockKnee Lth.)+2.8683 Chest Depth = (.263 W e i g h t ) - ( . 0 4 9 Sitting Ht.)+(.165 Chest Circum-

Rearession

Euuations

for Females

(all data in cm e~c~p~ w e i q h t

in pounds):

Eye Height, s t a n d i n g = (.963 S t a t u r e ) - 5 . 7 1 0 1 Acromion Height = (.957 Stature)-(.208 Sitting H e i g h t ) + ( . 0 6 5 Waist Circumference)-9.6449 Elbow Height = (.6952 Stature)-10.33 Knuckle Height = (.4095 Stature)+(.2227 Sitting H e i g h t ) - 1 4 . 3 7 1 Hip Breadth = (1.388 W e i g h t ) - ( . 1 4 8 Popliteal H e i g h t ) - ( . 1 0 0 Chest Circ. Scye)+32.4839 Overhead Reach stdg. = (1.066 Stature)-(.287 Elbow Rest Ht.)+ (.505 ButtockKnee Lth.)+3.1681 Eye Height, Sitting = (.907 Sitting Ht.)-3.7877 E l b o w - F i n g e r t i p Lth. = (.643 Popliteal Ht.)+(.175 B u t t o c k - K n e e Lth.)+6.5701 Chest Circ. at N i p p l e = (.8381 Chest Circ at S c y e ) + ( . 0 8 6 1 W e i g h t ) + 5 . 7 2 7 Chest Depth = (-.067 Stature)+(.613 W e i g h t ) + ( . 1 4 7 Chest Circ. at Scye)+13.9110 The above equations are included a n t h r o p o m e t r i c data prediction.

in the m i c r o c o m p u t e r

program

for

Lee and Shaykian: Microcomputer application in anthropometry

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PROGRAM S T R U C T U R E The m i c r o c o m p u t e r p r o g r a m for e n g i n e e r i n g a n t h r o p o m e t r y is w r i t t e n in Turbo Pascal p r o g r a m m i n g language for IBM personal c o m p u t e r family. The p r o g r a m works with any v e r s i o n s of Turbo Pascal Compiler. The p r o g r a m is menu driven and the user can obtain p r e d i c t e d a n t h r o p o m e t r i c data by simply following the instructions on the screen. The following shows some sample runs of the program.

ANTHROPOMETRIC

DATA

This p r o g r a m aids you to obtain the a n t h r o p o m e t r i c data for a male or female. The age of the person is expected to be between 20 and 60 years old. To use the program, simply follow the instructions p r o g r a m is very user friendly.

on the screen,

PRESS THE << ENTER >> KEY TO CONTINUE

ANTHROPOMETRIC

DATA

M.

Male

F.

Female

Q.

Quit

ENTER M, F, OR Q:

A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. J. K. Q.

M

Eye Height Standing (in cm) A c r o m i o n Height (in cm) Elbow Height (in cm) Knuckle Height (in cm) Hip Breadth (in cm) Funct Reach Forward (in cm) Vert Reach Sitting (in cm) Eye Height Sitting (in cm) A c r o m i o n Height Sitting (in cm) Forearm Hand Length (in cm) Chest Depth (in cm) Quit

:A Enter the M e a s u r e d Value of Stature Eye Height,

S t a n d i n g = 109.78

S t a n d a r d Error of Estimate Press <<

ENTER

is 0.99

>> to continue

(in cm):

149.5

the

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Proceedings of the 1 lth Annual Conference on Computers & Industrial Engineering

A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. J. K. Q.

Eye Height Standing (in cm) Acromion Height (in cm) Elbow Height (in cm) Knuckle Height (in cm) Hip Breadth (in cm) Funct Reach Forward (in cm) Vert Reach Sitting (in cm) Eye Height Sitting (in cm) Acromion Height Sitting (in cm) Forearm Hand Length (in cm) Chest Depth (in cm) Quit

:C Enter the Measured Value of Stature

(in cm):

Enter the Measured Value of Sitting Height

171.3

(in cm):

Enter the Measured Value of Elbow Rest Ht. Sit. (in cm): 28.1

Elbow Height = 109.65 Standard Error of Estimate Press <<

ENTER

is 1.29

>> to continue

A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. J. K. Q.

Eye Height Standing (in cm) Acrcmion Height (in cm) Elbow Height (in cm) Knuckle Height (in cm) Hip Breadth (in cm) Funct Reach Forward (in cm) Vert Reach Sitting (in cm) Eye Height Sitting (in cm) Acromion Height Sitting (in cm) Forearm Hand Length (in cm) Chest Depth (in cm) Quit

:Q

ANTHROPOMETRIC M.

Male

F.

Female

Q.

Quit

DATA

ENTER M, F, OR Q:

HAVE A NICE DAY THE END

Q

90.7

Lee and Shaykian: Microcomputer application in anthropometry

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CONCLUSION The collection anthropometric data is necessary for the proper design of a man-machine system and some applications require significant amount of measurements on specific features. The actual measurements of anthropometric features can be time consuming and impractical. However, with an aid of a microcomputer program, accurate estimation of necessary measurements can be made for a practical use. The program shown in this paper is just a small example of such a program. In order to develop a complete program, one must carefully select and study appropriate samples from existing data.

REFERENCES Ayoub, M.M. (1986), Trainina Manual in Occupational for Ergonomics Research, Texas Tech University,

Ergonomics, Institute Lubbock, TX

Department of Defense (1980), AnthroDometrv of U.S. Military (metric), DOD-HDBK-743, Washington, D.C~, U.S. Government Office

Personnel Printing

McConville, J.T., Robinette, K.M., Churchill, T (1981), An AnthroDometric Data Base for Commercial Design Application, Final Report, NSF-DAR-80 861. Yellow Springs, OH NASA

(1978), AnthroDometric Houston, TX

Sourcebook,

NASA Reference

Pheasant (1986), BodvsDace~ Anthropometry, Francis Ltd., Philadelphia, PA

Erqonomics

Publication and Design,

1024, Taylor &

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