# Ergonomic Design of a Workplace Using Virtual Reality and a Motion Capture Suit
## 8 Conclusions  
Thanks to our research, we have arrived at an answer to the initial question \"Can VR technology in combination with MoCap be used to implement ergonomic changes in working position with emphasis on upper limb loading in the assembly workplace?\". The outputs from our pilot study demonstrate that the combination of VR technology and MoCap suits allows the ergonomic evaluation of an assembly workstation. All the working positions that a worker adopts during an activity, and not just the upper limbs, can be analysed with accurate assessment capabilities. These methods will always be more accurate than standard methods and have a number of advantages when hardware, software, and a worker who can operate the equipment are available. The results have shown that we can still fine tune the proposed procedure by targeting some problematic positions. As the method was tested on a neutral assembly workstation (light manual assembly, standing at a workbench) which is found in almost all industrial companies, the method can be used in almost any industrial operation. The practical implications of the proposed method are individual and depend on a company's attributes. Currently, it is more suitable for big and medium industrial enterprises. These enterprises are forced to perform ergonomic testing more frequently. The most limiting factor for small enterprises is the current market price of hardware and software. On the other hand, the proposed method helps eliminate potential occupational diseases and health problems of workers, and therefore makes cost savings. Another important feature of this method is that it can reduce the cost of potential workplace changes, as designs can be validated in the pre-production or rebuilding phase. Each company has to individually review the rate of return on its investment. As a further solution, the application can be extended to include the possibility of using hand tracking technology. This technology would allow probands to grasp objects using their virtual hands, which 1:1 capture the movement of real hands. The whole process would be even more closely aligned to the real one. We propose adding real objects that could also simulate their weight. However, it would be necessary to place the objects in locations that would match the 1:1 placement on the real workstation to guarantee the realism of the whole process. This opens up other possibilities for future research, such as linking to local upper limb muscle loads that can be calculated thanks to a mathematical model [41], or using MoCap suits that support this technology, such as Tea Captiv [42] or Xsens. As mentioned earlier, we have found differences in the torsional flexion during real-world and VR exposure. This topic could be very interesting for a deeper examination in follow-up research. Additionally, we suggest doing research into the benefits of using real-world models for virtual objects during MoCap and VR ergonomic analyses. Conceptualisation, I.K., J.K. ([PERSON]) and P.H. ; methodology, P.H. and J.K. ([PERSON]); software, J.K. ([PERSON]); validation, I.K. and J.K. ([PERSON]); formal analysis, J.K. ([PERSON]) and P.H. ; investigation, I.K. ; resources, I.K., P.H. and J.K. ([PERSON]); data curation, I.K. ; writing--original draft preparation, I.K, J.K. ([PERSON]) and P.H. ; writing--review and editing, P.H., J.K. ([PERSON]) and I.K. ; visualisation, J.K. ([PERSON]) and P.H. ; supervision, P.H. and J.K. ([PERSON]); project administration, P.H. ; and funding acquisition, P.H. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. **Funding:** This work was supported by the Internal Science Foundation of the University of West Bohemia under Grant SGS-2021-028 'Developmental and Training Tools for the Interaction of Man and the Cyber-Physical Production System' and with the financial support of the European Union, as part of the project 'Development of capacities and environment for boosting the international, intersectoral and interdisciplinary cooperation, project reg. No.