The purpose of this research is to develop fundamental design methodologies for human space and product design by motion capture of human activity. It is intended to use data extracted from human motion to help design interior space and products such as furniture. In order to produce a ubiquitous and comfortable environment, performance modeling focusing on the relationships between space and physical motion is needed.
Everyday products and interior spaces produced by conventional ergonomics can bring convenience, help reduce work load, insure safety, and prevent health risks. However, possibilities for new designs may emerge that are free from established general ideas if we can computerize, track, and visualize human performance along with a timeline and reconstitute the data in design shapes such as those of furniture. In addition, while design methods abound, they rarely correspond closely to what humans actually perceive. In order to create a truly valuable ubiquitous and comfortable environment in the era of design oversupply, it becomes more important to think about how we can converge physical life and virtual technologies.
  Design methodologies are developed using a motion capture device in collaboration with the computer science department of the authors’ institution. Motion capture is a technique of digitally recording movements and is currently used mostly in entertainment, sports, and medical disciplines. It is rarely used, however, in the field of architecture and product design as an object data input device.
This research proves that the numeric data of the body action can be transferred and developed to the object shape. Making an object of complex shape is thought to be a new application of the motion capture technology. In addition, there will be an opportunity for creating ubiquitous products, because the proposed application of the motion capture technology directly transfers human motion data to physical objects. Another advantageous function of motion capture is that it can provide data such as moment and force in real time by parsing captured data. Then by inputting physical parameters including height, weight, and/or length of each part of the body into the analysis program, it will be possible to compose the object data needed for tailoring a suitable form for each individual. However, because use of motion capture as a design input device requires a huge volume of calculation and takes a long time, optimum arrangement of the sensing markers and efficient data collection should help create 3D form more effectively. In this research it is expected to establish a methodology of transferring spatial information extracted from motion of the human body to design data. Moreover, in order to materialize ubiquitous products, this methodology will be beneficial if we can have feedback from and analyze analog tactile mockups and then optimize the design of the products. Because customized and personalized objects will increasingly be demanded, this research will contribute to develop interactive design method by coupling computer and human performance.
       
