The Anthropometrics of Disability - Designing Accessible Communities

overall to increasing sample size or doing more studies.
• In developing multi-center plans it is important to get the agencies involved
from the beginning. Neither researchers nor sponsors can come in with a
finished plan. Planning has to be both a top down and bottom up process.
• More research is necessary to describe performance at the extremes. On the
one hand, this would help us to know how individuals successfully cope with
limitations in function. On the other hand, it would help us identify the limits of
design intervention – where environmental supports provide only marginal
and ineffective impact.
• Involving clinicians in the collection of data may help to obtain a lot more
data because they have access to the research participants. But it is difficult
for clinicians to collect data when they have other tasks to do and reliability
could be a problem. They would have to be paid and trained.
9. IMPROVING DATA COLLECTION METHODS
There was a general consensus that automated techniques for data collection are
necessary to improve effectiveness of anthropometrics research and that three
dimensional data collection strategies are necessary to understand functional tasks
and build models. Automation reduces the cost of data collection significantly
because it reduces the overall time necessary to measure each research participant.
It also can improve reliability and accuracy. The most important advantage of
automated systems is the ability to measure points in three dimensions, which is very
difficult to do manually. There are many competing commercial technologies. They
include stereo photography and video, 3D body scanning, electro-mechanical
probes, motion analysis using infra red video, motion analysis using electro-magnetic
sensors. Some researchers have developed their own unique devices, like John Kozey
and his associates who used a system of cables and strain gauges to measure
reaching envelopes. Each methodology has its advantages and disadvantages.
The workshop participants had many recommendations on how to improve data
collection techniques:
• Use video based motion analysis as much as possible. Motion analysis is very expensive and not suited for field use
but having a baseline to which other methods can be compared would be a good first step in 3-D anthropometry of
people with disabilities.
•
Motion capture systems can be utilized to characterize motions used in
various functional tasks, full body posture and postural changes. This will
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