Task-based Digital Human Simulation with Editor for Manual Work Activities - Basic Functionalities, Applications, and Future Works

Digital human modeling tools should be easy to apply, but they still need to produce realistic and correct results. The editor for manual work activities (EMA) simulation software is using an algorithmic approach for self-initiated motion generation based on objective task descriptions. This decreases the user effort for simulation preparation and increases simulation validity because the user has limited influence on simulation results. EMA has been designed for simulating human work activities in industrial production. Thus, it is very important that simulation and evaluation functions are based on accepted industry standards, such as Methods Time Measurement for time calculation and ergonomic assessment worksheet for ergonomics risk assessment. Although EMA is capable of simulating a great variety of human work motions, there is an increasing need of considering the human variability in such simulations. This requirement refers to the key properties of the digital human model (e.g., anthropometrics, physical abilities) and the simulated motion behavior (e.g., motion strategies, errors). To improve the validity and variability of EMA simulations, several studies have been carried out recently. Results show, for example, that it is necessary to consider age-related changes in human motion behavior and enable the software user to define and analyze alternative motion strategies.