IB Design Technology Topic A1.1.2: Anthropometrics Notes

Anthropometrics: Measuring the Human Body

1. Anthropometrics is the study of the human body's physical dimensions, such as height, mass, and the length of body parts.
2. Designers measure these dimensions so a product fits the people who will actually use it, instead of relying on guesswork.
3. The measurements are expressed as a percentile range, which describes how a dimension is spread across a population and which you meet in A1.1.3.

Static Data: The Body at Rest

1. Static data, also called structural anthropometry, is measured while the body is still.
2. It records fixed dimensions like standing height, shoulder breadth, and the length between two joints.
3. Three instruments collect most static data:
   1. Callipers measure the breadth, diameter, or depth of a body part.
   2. A stadiometer measures vertical standing height.
   3. An anthropometer measures the length between two fixed points.

These fixed dimensions set the real sizes a product has to match.

Dynamic Data: The Body in Motion

1. Dynamic data, also called functional anthropometry, is measured while the body moves.
2. It captures reach, strength, and range of movement, which a still measurement cannot show.
3. Three instruments are common here:
   1. Motion-capture sensors record how far a person can reach.
   2. Dynamometers measure strength or grip force.
   3. Goniometers measure the range of movement at a joint.

1. Dynamic data is harder to collect than static data.
2. It is often more useful, because it shows how far and how easily a real person can actually move.

Four Factors That Change the Data

1. Anthropometric data is not the same for everyone, so data chosen for one group can misfit another:
   1. Age: children, teenagers, adults, and the elderly differ in proportions, dimensions, and range of movement.
   2. Gender: men and women often differ in dimensions, with men on average taller and of greater bone mass.
   3. Ethnicity: genetic and regional differences affect body size and proportions.
   4. Disability: mobility, sensory, cognitive, and chronic conditions can change body dimensions and how a person uses a product, so they need their own data.

Choosing the Right Data for a Product

1. Before gathering data, a designer works out who the product is for and where it will sell.
2. Those answers decide which age, gender, ethnicity, and disability data are needed.