Virtual Ergonomics in Aviation and Aerospace Design Consideration

This report delves into the application of virtual ergonomics, particularly focusing on the aviation and aerospace industries. It highlights the use of digital human modeling (DHM) as a crucial tool for assessing reach, accessibility, and overall ergonomic design within aircraft cockpits and passenger spaces. The report emphasizes DHM's role in creating accurate posture libraries, performing vision analysis, determining design modifications to accommodate diverse users, predicting pilot behavior, and simulating environmental factors like heat transfer and airflow. It contrasts the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of DHM simulations with traditional ergonomics evaluations, underscoring the technology's importance in mitigating human factors that contribute to aircraft accidents. The report cites various applications of DHM, including its use in cockpit design, maintenance studies, and addressing ergonomic issues in ground activities. It concludes by emphasizing the potential of DHM to enhance safety, comfort, and efficiency within the aerospace sector, promoting interdisciplinary research that integrates human factors and engineering design.

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Virtual Ergonomics
Technology of virtual human modeling is used to assess reach as well as accessibility in
cockpits of aircraft, creating appropriate posture libraries, determining modifications of design to
accommodating female users, performing the vision analysis to the pilots, predicting behavior of
pilot in proposed design of cockpit, assessing comfort for passenger seats of airplane, simulating
heat transfer as well as air flow in cockpit of airplane (Duffy, 2016). Traditional approach of
ergonomics investigations could be replaced effectively by evaluations that are facilitated by the
digital mockups as well as digital humans.
To maintain steady augmentation within sectors of aviation and aerospace, adoption of
practices or principles of ergonomics is inevitable. Ergonomics could be defined as scientific
discipline which is concerned with understanding of interactions between humans and system’s
other elements and profession which applies theoretical data, methods and principles to design
for optimizing well-being of human as well as overall performance of the system (Green, et al.,
2019). Ergonomics’ thought mustn’t be found to be lacking in discussion related with humans as
well as their working environment. It calls to develop approach of interdisciplinary research
which incorporates human factors or ergonomics for addressing research concerns within any
industry.
Digital human model is two or three dimensional human structure that is generated by
computer that is used for representing human beings’ complicated physical as well as cognitive
aspects. Simulations by use of digital human models and mockup are economical when
compared to traditional evaluation process of ergonomics. Human link of aviation is reported as
reason for almost 60%-70% accidents of aircraft. 70% accidents of aircraft could be for human’s

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inefficient performance. Hence, this is signifying need of research of human factor within
industry of aviation with respect to engineering design by pilots being replaced by digital human
(Ahmed, et al., 2018). At present, majority of human factor’s research which is related with
industry of aviation is done by keeping in mind of aviation psychology. Common tendency could
be permitting ergonomically bad, though economical design financially upon flight desk with
expectation that the pilots would be able in adjusting as well as managing due to humans’
flexible nature.
Digital human modeling (DHM) is first adopted by aerospace industry. Maximum users
are found presently in engineering sectors of aerospace and automotive. Community of
ergonomics has put best efforts in addressing issues of man and machine within industry of
aerospace and aviation by using trials as well as physical mockups with the real humans.
Development and research which are relate with human factors focused mainly in working
environment of cockpit and pilot. DHM is used widely to design cockpits of aircrafts. Most
manufacturers of aircraft use commercially available or their own software of virtual human
modeling (Irshad, et al., 2019). DHM was used effectively for predicting probable behavior of
pilot in proposed design of cockpit for the jet aircraft. Virtual human simulation’s application for
maintenance of specific systems of aircraft leads in improvements of design. DHM could be used
for addressing the ergonomic issues for ground activities such as reception, services and security
check of passengers. Technology of DHM is not utilized yt for the investigations that are related
with other modes for air travel.

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References
Ahmed, S., Gawand, M. S., Irshad, L., & Demirel, H. O. (2018, August). Exploring the design
space using a surrogate model approach with digital human modeling simulations.
In ASME 2018 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers
and Information in Engineering Conference. American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Digital Collection.
Duffy, V. G. (2016). Handbook of digital human modeling: research for applied ergonomics and
human factors engineering. CRC press.
Green, R. F., Hagale, T. J., George, T., Hancock, G. A., & Rice, S. M. (2019). Digital human
modeling in aerospace. In DHM and Posturography (pp. 549-558). Academic Press.
Irshad, L., Ahmed, S., Demirel, O., & Tumer, I. Y. (2019). Coupling digital human modeling
with early design stage human error analysis to assess ergonomic vulnerabilities. In AIAA
Scitech 2019 Forum (p. 2349).