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Session 3157

Motion-Tracking Technology & Three-Dimensional Displays Provide Leading-Edge Research & Educational Tools to Industrial Engineering Students at Texas A&M University-Commerce

Andrew E. Jackson, Ph.D. Texas A&M University-Commerce

Abstract

In the fall of 2002, a new Industrial Engineering program was established at Texas A&M University-Commerce (TAMUC). A central component of this new undergraduate program is a reconfigurable, modularized Human Factors & Ergonomics Laboratory (HFEL) that will provide students and faculty access to state-of-the-art graphical displays, audio systems, motion-tracking systems, and ergonomic workstation evaluation tools and technologies. Four laboratory modules have been designed to enable students to study and evaluate a wide variety of workplace and workstation human factors and ergonomics configurations. MotionMonitor1, by Innovative Sports Training incorporates magnetic sensors, sophisticated software, and motion-tracking systems which are being integrated into the laboratory to enable students to study a variety of human movement parameters within traditional and experimental office, educational and industrial settings. A value-added element of the laboratory is a set of three-dimensional (3D) graphical displays, developed by StereoGraphics2, that present realistic 3D images to the student without the aid of virtual reality goggles or other external stereo-optical vision devices. This new, unaided 3D presentation technology is expected to allow the student to create and evaluate techniques to enhance training, design, and systems engineering effectiveness. The motion- tracking technology used in the TAMUC Industrial Engineering laboratory, is similar to the equipment used to capture human movements and to generate human-centered data for animation teams, such as in the animated feature film, Shrek® by Dreamworks Skg. This technology, based on a system called Flock of Birds® by Ascension Technology Corporation, uses magnetic sensors, placed in strategic locations on the human body to capture data points in 3D space for use in various engineering design, simulation, and animation tasks. Candidate uses of this technology include fatigue studies, physical performance evaluations, sports physiology, work methods analyses, and industrial hygiene analyses. This paper provides a detailed overview of the Human Factors Laboratory development effort at TAMUC, with a special emphasis on motion-tracking technologies and the new 3D graphical display technologies that are being integrated into the laboratory.

Background and Initial Laboratory Preparations

In support of the new Industrial Engineering (IE) program at Texas A&M University- Commerce, new laboratory developments have been energized to include a Human Factors & Ergonomics Laboratory (HFEL). This new laboratory is being designed and integrated from the ground up, to provide undergraduate IE students with state-or-the-art equipment to study and

Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2004, American Society for Engineering Education

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Jackson, A. (2004, June), Motion Tracking Technology & Three Dimensional Displays Provide Leading Edge Research & Educational Tools To Industrial Engineering Students At Texas A&M University Commerce Paper presented at 2004 Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--13410