Bikes are designed to accommodate the average-sized rider, leaving taller and shorter riders susceptible to discomfort.
A brand new research from the College of Waterloo used software program that predicted sensible motorbike driving behaviors, contemplating human elements and ergonomic trade-offs. It discovered that shorter and taller statures require joint changes to realize their most popular driving posture. The research was revealed in Ergonomics.
Taller riders are required to flex their ankles, knees, hips and elbows extra to work together with the motorbike correctly, and shorter riders have fewer choices in doable joint angle configurations, permitting them to achieve the seat, handlebars and foot pegs concurrently.
The research was performed utilizing a digital human mannequin (DHM)—a human illustration within the type of an avatar of any weight, measurement or intercourse—in a digital setting. The device permits researchers to look at human interactions with parts or merchandise comparable to bikes.
“The usage of DHMs in early two-wheeled motorcar design may assist producers enhance security, posture and luxury, along with saving prices,” mentioned Justin Davidson, Biomechanics Ph.D. candidate in Waterloo’s Division of Kinesiology and Well being Sciences and co-author of the research.
“If a automobile producer have been to think about using DHMs earlier of their design, it may take away among the earlier trial and error steps. We will change the design and enhance it throughout the pc software program earlier than constructing something, making it less expensive in the long term.”
Davidson added that the hope for the longer term is that corporations will enhance their designs to accommodate teams that fall exterior the typical measurement vary, which could possibly be achieved by learning avatars with numerous weights, heights and sexes throughout the DHM.
The ergonomics of motorbike driving is a reasonably understudied space regardless of motorbike driving being an more and more in style exercise across the globe. Davidson prompt that as motorbike gross sales enhance, motorbike design corporations are looking for applied sciences like DHMs to assist them achieve an edge.
“DHMs aren’t as generally used as they could possibly be, and their potential for early design intervention could possibly be helpful not solely when utilized to bikes however for sitting in a automobile and even sitting in your workplace,” Davidson mentioned.
“A part of our purpose on this analysis is to attempt to transfer the sector ahead in a approach that folks can use DHM instruments extra confidently in order that we are able to begin intervening and making issues higher for individuals earlier on, hopefully making individuals safer and extra comfy.”
Extra data:
Justin B. Davidson et al, Predicting most popular motorbike driving postures to assist human elements/ergonomic trade-off analyses inside a multi-objective optimisation-based digital human mannequin, Ergonomics (2024). DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2024.2329694
Quotation:
Digital human mannequin aids design of bikes, based mostly on driving posture (2024, Could 6)
retrieved 6 Could 2024
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