Creating realistic human model motion by hybrid motion capturing interfaced with the digital environment

A key challenge in production engineering projects is to achieve significant time and cost savings through early validation of manual assembly operations. Nevertheless, the use of digital human models for dynamic analyses is not very prevalent because of the high modeling complexity in the digital environment: with existing simulation tools, the worker's motions are either unrealistic or too time-consuming to program. Hence, further research is needed for developing a time-saving and realistic human motion simulation. In this article, we present an experimental setup for the early validation of manufacturing tasks through interactive simulation. We use a new hybrid motion-capture system interfaced with the digital environment, which facilitates the generation of realistic human model motion in real time. The software platform used is DELMIA V5. The article describes the relationship between optical and inertial tracking, and how the drift of the inertial sensors can be compensated by using a kinematic chain with a human model. Sequences of postures can be saved, both for the human model and tools, and later replayed synchronously. Finally, we detail the use of our setup in a real-world scenario within automotive manufacturing. This article acts as a practical contribution to simulation-based Manufacturing Ergonomics and Human Factors, illustrating the effectiveness of state-of-the-art technology for viable cost and time savings.