Simulation of Complex and Specific Task-Orientated Movements - Application to the Automotive Seat Belt Reaching

Improvement in the accessibility assessment of the seatbelts using a Digital Human Model requires a precise description of driver belt donning movement and of the associated discomfort. In order for automotive designers to be able to simulate seatbelt reaching movement, a general approach of motion simulation for complex and specific tasks has been proposed in this paper. It consists of three steps: constitution of a structured database, selection of an appropriate movement and its adaptation to meet new constraints.

From an experiment, a database of 644 movements of automotive seatbelt reaching movements has been built-up. In order to structure the database, the temporal and spatial characteristics of the trajectories of main markers (e.g. markers attached to the hand and the torso) as well as joint movements were analysed, allowing us to identify motion control strategies. An interface between the database and the user has been proposed in order to select a referential movement based on the subject’s characteristics and environmental conditions. Several useful concepts related to the motion adaptation algorithm have been introduced. Possible generalization is also discussed.