Immersive VR Environments, Full Body Tracking and Digital Human Models for Ergonomic Validation of Maritime Patrol Aircraft’s Interiors

In this paper, a human-centered design methodology is proposed to support the interiors design of a Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA). The combined use of Immersive Virtual Reality (VR) tools and Digital Human Models (DHMs) are exploited to include both objective and subjective measurements in the ergonomic evaluation process. The main issue consisted in defining the optimal ergonomic design configuration for Operator Console Area and Observer Window Area of MPA’s digital mock-up, provided by Leonardo S.p.A. The methodology is based on a five-step iteration process: once having identified the requirements, required input data and the design variables, the ideated configuration is evaluated using DHMs in order to retrieve objective measurements (i.e., interferences, visibility, reachability); finally, a subjective assessment within immersive VR environment is conducted. A real-time RULA analysis is carried out on DHMs, calibrated on selected users representing specific percentages of target population, by means of a full-body tracking system. The subjective assessment in immersive VR allows to take into account also other human factors (i.e. human ability, dexterity and cognitive aspects) that have not been previously considered and may significatively influence the validation of the final design configuration of MPA interiors.