Standardisation of 3D-laser whole body scanner protocol for anthropometric measurements in cockpit ergonomics

Standardizing the measurement protocol for 3D-Laser whole body scanners is crucial to ensure accurate anthropometric measurements essential for designing cockpit workspaces. The aim of this study was to standardize the use of 3D laser anthropometric scanners for cockpit ergonomic studies.

Four hundred healthy male volunteers, aged 18 to 56 years (mean±SD: 32.9±10.2 years), participated in this study. Thirty-two anthropometric parameters relevant to the ergonomic design of aircraft cockpits were measured using both a standard manual method and a newly developed 3D-laser scanner protocol. Manual measurements were conducted with the IAM Portable Manual Anthropometer, while 3D-laser scanning was performed using the VITUS® 3D-Laser Whole Body Scanner and ANTHROSCAN software by Human Solutions GmbH. Statistical comparisons were made for each parameter to evaluate differences in means, correlations, and agreement between the two measurement methods.

The percentage differences in means were up to 1% for 10 parameters, between 1% and 5% for 15 parameters, and exceeded 5% for 7 parameters. Seven parameters showed good correlation, 24 had moderate correlation, and one parameter had poor correlation. The agreement analysis revealed that the maximum bias for the 95% confidence interval, expressed as a percentage of the average of both means, was less than 5% for five parameters, between 5% and 10% for 14 parameters, and exceeded 10% for 13 parameters.

Analysis of differences in means, correlation strength, and agreement bias indicated that among the 32 anthropometric parameters, five were highly comparable, 14 were moderately comparable, and the remaining 13 were weakly comparable. Recommendations were made to refine and validate the 3D-scanner measurement protocol for better use in cockpit design ergonomics.