# Ergonomics Evaluation Using Motion Capture Technology--Literature Review
## 4 Summary of Theoretical Knowledge
Memorable films that have been created using motion capture suits include The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Avatar, and movies by the American film and television production company Marvel Studios. The overall development of MoCap technology in film production is described by authors [PERSON], [PERSON], and [PERSON] in the article **Motion Capture Suit/Vest**[87]. From a research perspective, the importance of ergonomic assessment of work postures is increasing. Ergonomics increases worker comfort and directly affects work efficiency and productivity [88]. This fact is discussed by the authors of **A framework for interactive work design based on motion tracking, simulation, and analysis** and **Automatic risk assessment integrated with activity segmentation in the order picking process to support health management**. Both analyses apply motion tracking and ergonomic evaluation methods to improve the efficiency and quality of work in assembly, manipulation, and maintenance work. The authors aim to increase competitiveness and create a compromise between system performance and operator well-being, using digital human modelling (DHM) technology and motion capture devices based on the inertial measurement unit (IMU) [89; 90]. A large percentage of studies related to workplace ergonomics investigate the use of modern technologies to prevent or eliminate biomechanical overload in workers. Physically demanding and repetitive tasks lead to work-related accidents, injuries, and musculoskeletal disorders. These risks can be completely avoided in the design of the workplace. For example, in the article **Ergonomic Design of a Workplace Using Virtual Reality and a Motion Capture Suit,** the authors created an innovative method of ergonomic workplace design using a motion capture suit (MoCap) linked to virtual reality [91]. The author team's research in this area was focused on manual assembly operations and the aim was to use motion capture to assess the ergonomics of these processes in virtual reality. This research was particularly beneficial in verifying the suitability of the ergonomics of the working positions using motion capture technology with respect to a suitably set-up process on a model of a real workplace in virtual reality. A significant positive of this approach is the ability to apply this methodology in the design of a workplace before it is actually implemented in operation, allowing verification of ergonomic suitability and modifications if necessary to achieve better results. This allows cost savings to be made on changes to an already established workplace in operation. The disadvantage of this research is that it is limited to manual assembly processes only; in the future, this methodology could be investigated within other types of processes. Position and motion capture are used not only in connection with workplace design, but also to detect and eliminate inappropriate work postures and optimise the current work environment. Evidence is provided by the articles **Innovative real-time system to integrate ergonomic evaluations into warehouse design and management, Physical risk factors identification based on body sensor network combined to videotaping, Measuring Biomechanical Risk in Lifting Load Tasks Through Wearable System and Machine-Learning Approach,** in which the authors use wearable sensors and other assistive technologies to capture motion and perform ergonomic analyses in different types of work environments [70; 92]. Scientific progress is seen not only in motion capture methods, but also in methods of analysing the collected data. In the last of the three studies, a specific set of tools was developed and presented that processes the collected motion data and that provides an objective ergometric evaluation in real time [93]. Finally, the sources show that ergonomic evaluation does not only focus on a wide variety of work fields and environments, but also on specific age groups of workers.