A Proposal for Integrating Brazilian Anthropometric Database (Ergokit) within a Biomechanical System based on Videocinematography (Biomec) 2004-01-2189

The National Institute of Technology – INT works with ergonomics since the 70’s with emphasis on anthropometry and occupational biomechanics researches. Our aim is to contribute to the improvement of the brazilian industrial product’s quality, as well as the improvement of the work conditions in our country. Concerning to these a video cinematography system called BIOMEC has been developed for analysing occupational biomechanical parameters in industries as well as a brazilian anthropometric database called ERGOKIT. The BIOMEC system uses a 2D biomechanical software that can use any hardware that acquires occupational postures images or videos. The video cameras collect kinematics data that can be captured to a PC and analysed by a biomecanical software that allows the image digitalization and processing. In the BIOMEC system you can create human spatial models based on static or dynamics biomechanical models and calculate kinematics and kinetics parameters. The BIOMEC system has been used to analyse postural and loads in manual assembling processes and manual material handling activities. The ERGOKIT is an anthropometric database that presents 180 measurements collected in four anthropometric surveys of the brazilian population that incorporates a total of 4.987 people measured. Until now these systems have not been integrated. It is our purpose to incorporate the ERGOKIT data within BIOMEC system in order to create virtual brazilian human models that can perform dynamic movements and that allows work activity simulation in a dynamical way.