Using a scalable mock-up unit to consider ergonomics aspects during industrial vehicles design process

Abstract

The automotive industry is so competitive that new vehicles must quickly be proposed. Toward this ends, conception processes enhancing an early involvement of several professions were developed. Ergonomics is one of these professions and its early considerations, when designing a vehicle, can mostly be based on numerical intermediaries' objects of the vehicle and the future user. Even though the use of numerical tools is widespread, physical prototypes are still required in the automotive industry in order to validate ergonomics aspects of the vehicle. However, these prototypes are expansive, complex to implement and only take part in a late stage of conception. In this context, the current article presents the potential contribution of a multi-scale mockup that could be used in order to early take into account ergonomics aspects when designing a technical vehicle. The originality of this mock-up lies in the fact that it is scalable and easy to implement. Doing so, it can thus, contrary to traditional physical mock-ups, be used early during the conception process.