TEMPUS: A System for the Design and Simulation of Human Figures in a Task-Oriented Environment

Abstract

A system called TEMPUS is outlined which is being developed to simulate graphically the task-oriented activities of several human agents in a three-dimensional environment. TEMPUS is a task simulation facility for the evaluation of complex workstations vis-a-vis the normal and emergency procedures they are intended to support and the types and number of individuals who must carry them out. TEMPUS allows a user to interactively:\n* Create one or more human figures which are correctly scaled according to a specific population, or which meet certain size constraints.\n* View the human figure in any of several graphical modes: stick figure, line or shaded polygons, or shaded BUBBLEPERSON.\n* Position the figure in any admissible position within joint angle constraints, and with the assistance of a robotics reach positioning algorithm for limbs.\n* Combine the figures with three-dimensional polyhedral objects derived from an existing CAD system.\n* Create shaded graphics images of bodies in such environments.\n* Use all TEMPUS features in an extensible and uniform user-friendly interactive system which does not require any explicit programming knowledge.\nA brief summary of the software engineering of this system in a University environment is included. Other features of TEMPUS and differences between TEMPUS and other available body modeling systems are also discussed.