Dynamic Anthropometric Modeling Interface

In this paper, we propose a Kinect-based Dynamic Anthropometric Modeling Interface (DAMI), built in Rhinoceros with Grasshopper for patient room layout optimization and nurse posture evaluations. Anthropometry is an important field that studies human body measurements to help designers improve product ergonomics and reduce negative health consequences such as musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Unlike existing anthropometric tools, which rely on generic human body datasets and static posture models, DAMI tracks and records user postures in real time, creating custom 3D body movement models that are typically absent in current space-planning practices. A generic hospital patient room, which contains complex and ergonomically demanding activities for nurses, was selected as an initial testing environment. We will explain the project background, the methods used to develop DAMI, and demonstrate its capabilities. There are two main goals DAMI aims to achieve. First, as a generative tool, it will reconstruct dynamic body point cloud models, which will be used as input for optimizing room layout during a project’s schematic design phase. Second, as an evaluation tool, by encoding and visualizing the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) scores, DAMI will illustrate the spatiotemporal relationship between nurse postures and the built environment during a project’s construction phase or post occupancy evaluation. We envision a distributed system of Kinect sensors to be embedded in various hospital rooms to help architects, planners, and facility managers improve nurse work experiences through better space planning.