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• Anthrop - Human
• Metricos - Of or pertaining to measurement
• Anthropometry - The science of measurement of body size

  The application of scientific methods to human subjects for the development of design standards & specific requirements and for the evaluation of engineering drawings, mock-ups & manufactured products for the purposes of assuring the suitability of these products for the intended user population.
• Measurement Techniques

  Classical

  or Linear Measurement Deals with simple dimensions of the stationary human being (weight, stature & lengths, breadths, depths & circumferences of particular body structures).  Measurements of height, breadth, depth, distance curvature, circumference and reach  Grid, anthropometer, calipers, measuring tape, scale  Simple but time consuming
• Measurement Techniques

  New

   Photographs (2D)  Computer modeling – stick person  Coordinate locations  MRI (3D
• The 50th percentile is the same as the mean
• The Standard Deviation describes the distribution of the data
• Variability of a sample can be done by dividing the standard deviation by the mean
• Functional Dynamic Anthropometry - Reach & Convenient zone. Deals with compound measurements of the moving human being
• To be accurate you must measure everyone individually, not one size fits all
• Coefficient of Variation ▸ Like SD, describes the degree to which numbers are spread out
• 68-95-99.7 RULE

  ▸ 68% of data fall within ± one SD

  ▸ 95% of data fall within ± two SD

  ▸ 99.7% of data fall within ± three SD
• Usefulness of Percentiles

  Establish an inclusion/exclusion criteria

  1. Selection of subjects for fit tests
  2. Provides an exactness to a measurement
  3. Defines the target group/market
• A correlation greater than 0.8 is generally described as strong, whereas a correlation less than 0.5 is generally described as weak.
• Sources of Anthropometric Variability

  • Race
  • Gender
  • Growth, Development, aging
  • Sport
  • Day time
  • Tasks and body motions
• Design Procedure

  1. Select the anthropometric measures that directly relate to defined design dimensions.
  2. Define the population
  3. Determine whether the design must fit only one given percentile of the body dimension, or a range.
  4. Combine all selected design values in a careful drawing, mock-up or computer model to ascertain if they are compatible.
  5. Determine if one design will fit all users.
• Larger coefficient of variation means the variability of the SD is higher
• Light work - at elbow height
• Heavy work - -10cm below elbow height
• Precision Work - +10cm above elbow height