In-Vehicle Driving Posture Reconstruction from 3D Scanning Data Using a 3D Digital Human Modeling Tool

Driving posture study is essential for the evaluation of the occupant packaging. This paper presents a method of reconstructing driver’s postures in a real vehicle using a 3D laser scanner and Human Builder (HB), the digital human modeling tool under CATIA. The scanning data was at first converted into the format readable by CATIA, and then a personalized HB manikin was generated mainly using stature, sitting height and weight. Its pelvis position and joint angles were manually adjusted so as to match the manikin with the scan envelop. If needed, a fine adjustment of some anthropometric dimensions was also preceded. Finally the personalized manikin was put in the vehicle coordinate system, and joint angels and joint positions were extracted for further analysis.