Computer program puts man in machine

Before the computer age, the only way to tell if a piece of machinery would fit a person was to build it and put a person in it. Now, the machinery can be built on a computer and a mechanical figure can check it out. This mechanical figure can be found on a program called "Jack," the result of over ten years of research in human modeling conducted by Norman Badler, director of the Engineering School's computer graphics lab. Researchers use the program to test designs for cars, tractors and other machinery for major companies and agencies like Deere and Company, NASA, Siemens and Martin Marietta. The program has a basic human figure which the user can adjust either bit by bit or by changing its height and weight. Or one of 60 other figures could be chosen and adjusted. Each figure is generally custom-designed for the machinery to be tested. "You could make him tall, short, fat, skinny, whatever," said Cary Phillips, systems programmer for the Computer Research Group. Multiple figures can be put on the screen, although they cannot be moved simultaneously. "Some of these things [the figure does] seem incredibly obvious, but when you try to do them on a computer they're not that simple," Phillips said. For instance, when one part of the figure is moved, the computer adjusts the rest of the body. If the user bends the back, the system automatically compensates by moving the legs to balance the figure. The figure's movements are sometimes awkward since it can not feel the pain that results from bending its arm or leg back too far. "His movements aren't really intended to be natural movement. The important thing is the position he's in, not the movement," said Phillips. "You wouldn't use this application for dance." Phillips said that most other applications in the field are quite primitive. University students, ranging from undergraduates to doctoral candidates, help write new software for Jack. "We usually have five to eight undergraduates, and most of the time they are contributing to Jack," said Badler. They are usually seniors working on senior projects and graduate students working on course projects. But last year a junior designed a figure with movable hands. The lab is still accepting students for this year. The research for Jack is funded by almost 15 different agencies. They all receive free software, training in how to use it, and updated software when it becomes available. Although the program is available for use, it is constantly being updated. "Every six months or so we send out new software," Phillips said. "We'd like to have commands where we can tell the figure go over and open the door and it will go over and open the door," Phillips said. Badler said that the research will continue for at least the next several years.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.