An Integrated Model of Gait and Transition Stepping for Simulation of Industrial Workcell Tasks Matthew P. Reed and David W. Wagner Presented at the 2007 SAE Digital Human Modeling Conference, Seattle, Washington, June 12-14, 2007.

Industrial tasks performed by standing workers are among those most commonly simulated using digital human models. Workers often walk, turn, and take acyclic steps as they perform these tasks. Current human modeling tools lack the capability to simulate these whole body motions accurately. A new approach to simulating stepping and walking in task-oriented activities is presented here. Foot placements and motions are predicted from operator and task characteristics using empirical models derived from laboratory data and validated using field data from an auto assembly plant. The motions of the pelvis and torso are predicted from the foot placements, operator characteristics, and task requirements. This modular approach is highly general and can simulate gait, transition stepping, and stepping for balance maintenance in a single integrated system that can be implemented in any digital human model. abs2007_04