Modeling Variability in Foot Shape

The U.S. Army is developing a new physical dummy for assessing protection in underbody blast events.  The Warrior Injury Assessment Manikin (WIAMan) will have the size, shape, and posture of a midsize male soldier.  U-M is currently assisting with the development of the anthropometric specifications for WIAMan as well as biomechanical testing to support the development of performance requirements.

Through the current ARC “seated soldier” project, U-M has gathered whole-body anthropometry data that will used to define the external body shape for WIAMan.   However, due to limitations of the scanning device used in that study, the available foot data are in adequate.  Consequently, this research will use data available from the Natick Soldier Research Development and Engineering Center (NSRDEC) to create a detailed specification for the WIAMan foot.

References:

• Reed, M.P. and Parkinson, M.B. (2008). Modeling variability in torso shape for chair and seat design. DETC2008-49483. Proceedings of the ASME Design Engineering Technical Conferences. ASME, New York. doi: 10.1115/DETC2008-49483