This document discusses anthropometry, which is defined as the measurement of human body dimensions. It explains that anthropometric data is important for designing objects that people will use in order to account for variations in body size and shape. The document outlines what body dimensions to measure, whom to measure, and how to collect and use anthropometric data to inform three design strategies: designing for extremes, adjustability, or averages. It also notes two important design allowances of shoes and clothing. Finally, it describes a class activity where students will use anthropometric data to determine measurements for an ergonomic chair design.

1. Anthropometry
Ridwan Prasetyo

2. Today’s menu…
• Definition and the importance
• Anthropometric data
• Design paradigm and strategy
• Class activity: Practicing scientific design
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3. Definition…
• Anthropos = humans
• Metrikos = measurement
• Literal meaning = measurement of humans
Easy, isn’t it?
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4. More formal definition (maybe for exam)…
Measurement of the dimensions and certain other
physical characteristics of the body such as volumes,
centers of gravity, inertial properties, and masses of body
segments (Sanders & McCormick, 1992)
Too long and difficult?
The study and measurement of human body dimensions
(Wickens, et al., 2004)  I love this definition!
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5. Why is it important?
Because God creates us in various and different sizes
and shapes: due to age, sex, ethnic, nutrition, etc.
So what?
Physical characteristics of people need to be taken
into account in designing anything that people will
use  Make sense?
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6. Anthropometric data
• What to measure?
• Whom to measure?
• How to measure?
• How to use the data?
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7. What to measure…?
• Mainly static body dimensions
• Several advance measurements can also be
performed e.g. dynamic and Newtonian body
dimension  we don’t discuss these two in this
class. Don’t worry!
• Which body parts?
 Anything that you need
 Principle: the more you get, the better it would be!
 Some expert made standardization  very helpful!
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8. Static body dimensions: Standing & sitting
(based on Chuan, et al., 2010)
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9. Static body dimensions: Standing & sitting
(based on Chuan, et al., 2010)
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10. More complete anthropometric data?
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
please take a look at:
https://msis.jsc.nasa.gov/sections/section03.htm
But they don’t show all they have
Some anthropometric data are commercialized  priced more
than $10,000
Fortunately, Indonesia has it! Take a look at:
http://antropometriindonesia.org/index.php/detail/artikel/4/10
/data_antropometri
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11. Whom to measure?
• Sample from population
• Population of what?
Of the potential users of your design
• How many for the ideal sample?
It’s difficult to specify
The more people you take, the more precise it would
be!
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12. How many sample?
• Based on Krejcie & Morgan’s (1970) formula
• It has been too old, more than 40 years ago!
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13. How to measure?
Using special anthropometric apparatus/tools:
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14. Using anthropometric data
Remember this thing?
Please review your statistics module again
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15. Let’s make this easier…
• Anthropometric data tends to follow “bell curve shape”
• So we can predict certain distribution from the data
• Commonly used distribution in anthropometric data:
5th, 50th, 95th percentile (Adams, 2015)
• 5th percentile means: 5 percent of population is on the
value or below the value
• Example: 5th percentile of weight of Indonesian
population is 40kg. It means that there are 5 percent of
the population whose weight is 40kg or less than 40kg
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16. Confusing?
• 5th and 95th percentile is considered “extreme
member” of a population
• 5th percentile  smallest, shortest, lightest people
in a population
• 95th percentile  biggest, tallest, heaviest people
in a population
• Percentile  coverage of population
• Example: using 95th percentile value  covering
95% of population
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17. Anthropometric data example…
Anthropometric data of Indonesian women(*):
(*) taken from http://antropometriindonesia.org/index.php/detail/artikel/4/10/data_antropometri
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18. Enough for the anthropometric
data, let’s move on to….
Design paradigm and strategy (Sanders &
McCormick, 1992):
• Design for extreme (5th or 95th percentile)
• Design for adjustability
• Design for average  be careful…!
Main principle in design: to accommodate as many
people as possible  but you have specify the
population first
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19. Design for extreme
• Using 5th and 95th percentile as reference
• Don’t forget: male and female are different!
• Anthropometric data always come with two sets of
data: male data and female data
• Man generally larger than women in most dimensions
• Example:
95th percentile: Let the tallest people enter the door
5th percentile: Let the shortest people reach the button
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20. If you’re designing a door…
• What is the value for the door’s height you will use?
Steps:
Which body dimensions? Height, span, or what?
Which percentile? 5th, 50th, 95th?
Which data sets? Male or female?
Now you get the value….
Remember this: “If the tallest people can pass the door, then the shorter
people will definitely have no problem”.
male female
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21. If you’re designing a button (e.g.
in cockpit)…
• What is the value of the distance from users’ position to the button?
Similar steps:
Which body dimensions? Height, span, or what?
Which percentile? 5th, 50th, 95th?
Which data sets? Male or female?
Now you get the value….
Remember this: “If people with shortest arms can reach the button, then
people with longer arms will definitely have no problem”.
male female
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22. Design for adjustability
• For me, this seems to be the most ideal
• Can also accommodate the most extreme people
e.g. wheelchair users, very small persons, etc.
• But, this design strategy can not be applied in every
situations
• This is the most ideal, but the most costly
• Imagine…you’re designing an ATM using this design
strategy
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23. Design for adjustability….?
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24. Design for average
• Be careful with this strategy
• There are no people whose body dimensions are all
at the 50th percentile (Hedge, 2013)
• People with short arms don’t necessarily have short
legs, etc.
• Using 50th percentile for certain design parameters
can accommodate many people in population
• But, using 50th percentile (sometimes) means that
you only cover 50% population
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25. Design allowances
(Pheasant & Haslegrave, 2005; Grandjean, 1997)
• Anthropometric measurements refer to a naked
person (or lightly clothed)
• In daily situation, we don’t go to office or campus
naked or barefoot
• Two design allowances to be considered: SHOES
and CLOTHING
• Shoes  apply anywhere
• Clothing  usually in cold regions
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26. Design allowances…
CLOTHING
SHOES
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27. Class activity
• Make a group consisting of max. 4 students
• There are 52 (registered) students here, so we
should have 12 groups with 4 students each
• You all act as a designer and your client ask you to
design an ergonomic chair
• The task is easy: you only need to determine
measurements of the chair
• I will give you the paperwork after you’re done with
the grouping
• Put your names and NIMs in the paperwork
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