DIGITAL BIOMECHANICS

Physics-based Human Simulation for
Virtual Prototyping

Digital Biomechanics is a revolutionary new tool for virtual prototyping. It lets you test new equipment in the context of realistic soldier tasks. Import your new equipment designs, attach them to simulated soldiers, make them run a virtual obstacle course, collect and analyze the data — all before physical prototypes are built. The tool provides sophisticated physics-based simulation, validated anthropometry, and advanced human control.

Digital Biomechanics improves the development process by allowing designers to:

• Accelerate development
  Immediate performance feedback enables designers to test, refine, and retest prototype designs quickly, earlier than physical prototypes can be built.

• Reduce cost
  Precise modeling in the design phase exposes design flaws before money is spent on physical prototyping and field testing.

• Predict performance
  Accurate, validated simulations of active human behavior allow performance to be measured across a range of situations.

• Reduce risk
  Reveal serious design issues during testing on simulated humans—not live ones

• Analyze impact
  Trace the effects of equipment design changes on performance through controlled test environments and virtual obstacle courses.

Ongoing Validation to Ensure Accurate Simulation Results

To ensure that the physics-based models in Digital Biomechanics obey the same laws of locomotion, balance, and loading as real soldiers do in the physical world, Boston Dynamics conducts ongoing validation of simulation results against measurements on live subjects. Validation is done with data from active duty soldiers through an agreement with the U. S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine.

Simulated soldiers are derived from an extensive anthropometry database developed by the U.S. Army. Digital Biomechanics lets product design engineers load equipment prototypes onto simulated soldiers of different size and shape and analyze the impact of the equipment on soldier performance as they complete virtual obstacle courses.