A 3D head and face scan data can be usefully applied in the ergonomic design of a wearable product such as an oxygen mask or a virtual reality (VR) headset to support the safety as well as comfort for a certain amount of a target population. This study is aimed to develop analysis and design methods of an ergonomic facial wearable products (e.g., pilot oxygen mask, VR headsets) based on numerous 3D face scan data (366 faces and 2,299 heads) through the template registration and the finite element (FE) analysis methods to predict the contact pressure between the face and a product. The application of the FE analysis on numerous 3D images to find an optimal form of a product is a novel approach in product design. The proposed methods on contact pressure analysis could be usefully applied for wearable products, which fit body parts.@en

3D body scanning has been used broadly including digital human modeling, simulation, ergonomic product design, and so forth. This research used template-registered faces of 336 Koreans in order to use them to design an oxygen mask that provides good fit to Korean faces. The finite element analysis method is applied onto the template-registered faces to predict the contact pressure of a mask design onto different faces. The average and variation of the estimated contact pressure values among all the Korean faces were analyzed for evaluation of the appropriateness of a mask design for Koreans. The proposed method can be usefully applied to find an optimal shape of wearable products for a specific target population.

@en