Apparatus and method for evaluating equipment operability

Abstract

The equipment operability evaluation apparatus calculates the operating posture of a human body model based on the physique information about a human body model in a physique management table, the operation information in an operation management table, and the target information in a target management table, arranges an equipment model and the human body model taking the calculated operating posture in a three-dimensional virtual space, displays a view image of a three-dimensional virtual space from the point of view of the human body model, and determines the visibility about the target operation area of the equipment model displayed on the view image and the readability of a character string.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an example of a structure of an equipment operability evaluation apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an example of an explanatory view of inverse kinematics (IK).

FIG. 3 shows an example of a data structure of a physique management table.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a data structure of a target management table.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a data structure of a visual identification management table.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a data structure of a target part management table.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a data structure of a character string setting table.

FIG. 8 shows an example of a data structure of an operation management table.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a data structure of a visual identification determination management table.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a data structure of an operation determination table.

FIGS. 11A and 11B are explanatory diagrams of a change of an operating posture of a human body model when a human body type is changed.

FIG. 12 shows an operating posture of a human body model when the layout of an equipment model is changed.

FIGS. 13 and 14 show an example of a flowchart of an equipment operability evaluating process.

FIG. 15 shows an example of a view image.

FIGS. 16A to 16C are explanatory diagrams of the visual identification determining process.

FIGS. 17A to 17F are explanatory diagrams of the character recognition determining process.

FIG. 18 shows an example of a series of operations performed by a human body model.

FIGS. 19A and 19B show a human body model and an equipment model arranged in a three-dimensional virtual space.

FIGS. 20A and 20B show an example of an operating posture of a human body model.

Claims

1. An apparatus for evaluating equipment operability which evaluates operability of equipment, comprising: a physique management unit managing physique information about a human body model as a copy of a shape of a human body;a target management unit managing a human body part of the human body model and a target position to which the human body part is to be moved as target information;a posture calculation unit calculating an operating posture taken when the human body model is operating an equipment model as a copy of a shape of the equipment using the target position as a watch point of the human body model based on the physique information about the human body model managed by the physique management unit and the target information managed by the target management unit;a simulation unit arranging the equipment model and the human body model taking the operating posture calculated by the posture calculation unit in a three-dimensional virtual space, and displaying a view image as an image of the three-dimensional virtual space viewed from the point of view of the human body model taking the operating posture; anda view determination unit determining whether or not a visual identification target part is in the range of the view of the human body model using the information about the visual identification target part as the part of the equipment model to be visually confirmed by the human body model.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a visual identification management unit managing, as visual identification information, information about a visual identification target part as a part of the equipment model to be visually confirmed by the human body model.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a first determination unit determining visibility of a visual identification target part of the equipment model displayed on the view image and readability of a character string associated with the visual identification target part based on the information about the visual identification target part; anda second determination unit determining the operability of the equipment based on a determination result by the first determination unit.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first determination unit performs a visual identification determining process for determining whether or not the visual identification target part can be visually identified based on a difference between a color of the visual identification target part displayed on the view image and a color of a background area of the visual identification target part on the view image, or a difference between brightness of the visual identification target part displayed on the view image and brightness of the background area of the visual identification target part on the view image.

5. The apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising: a character string setting unit setting attribute information about a character string associated with the visual identification target part,wherein the first determination unit calculates a distance at which the human body model having a predetermined eyesight can visually identified the character string based on the set attribute information about a character string associated with the visual identification target part, information about a direction of a line of sight to the character string of the human body model, and information about the predetermined eyesight of the human body model, and determines readability of the character string based on a comparison result between the calculated distance at which the character string can be visually identified and an actual distance between the human body model and the character string in the three-dimensional virtual space.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the posture calculation unit calculates a posture for allowing a human body part managed as the target information about a human body model having a physique corresponding to the physique information about the human body model to move to the target position and for allowing the human body model to visually confirm the visual identification target part.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a target part management unit managing information about a target part as a part to be operated by the human body model as associated with the target position managed by the target management unit,wherein the target part management unit keeps a relative position of the target part to the target position associated with the target part constant, andwherein the posture calculation unit calculates the operating posture as the posture taken by the human body model operating the equipment model using the target position as a watch point of the human body model based on the physique information about the human body model managed by the physique management unit, target information managed by the target management unit, and information about target part managed by the target part management unit.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the posture calculation unit calculates a posture for allowing the human body part managed as the target information about a human body model having a physique corresponding to the physique information about the human body model to move to the target position associated with the target part and for allowing the human body model to visually confirm the visual identification target part.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an operating posture management unit managing an order in which the human body model takes the operating posture and the target information for use in calculating the operating posture for each operating posture taken by the human body model,wherein the posture calculation unit calculates the operating posture of the human body model in the order in which the human body model takes the operating posture managed by the operating posture management unit.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the first determination unit determines whether or not a target position for use in calculating a next operating posture taken by the human body model in a range of view of the human body model for each operating posture taken by the human body model.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the view determination unit determines whether or not the visual identification target part is in the range of the view of the human body model for each operating posture taken by the human body model.

12. A method for evaluating equipment operability for evaluating operability of equipment using an equipment operability evaluation apparatus, comprising: managing physique information about a human body model as a copy of a shape of a human body;managing a human body part of the human body model and a target position to which the human body part is to be moved as target information;calculating an operating posture taken when the human body model is operating an equipment model as a copy of the shape of the equipment using the target position as a watch point of the human body model based on the physique information about the human body model and the target information;arranging the equipment model and the human body model taking the calculated operating posture in a three-dimensional virtual space, and displaying a view image as an image of the three-dimensional virtual space viewed from a point of view of the human body model taking the operating posture; anddetermining whether or not a visual identification target part is in a range of view of the human body model using information about the visual identification target part as a part of the equipment model to be visually confirmed by the human body model.

13. A computer-readable recording medium recording a program for evaluating operability of equipment, the program causing a computer to execute: managing physique information about a human body model as a copy of a shape of a human body;managing a human body part of the human body model and a target position to which the human body part is to be moved as target information;calculating an operating posture taken when the human body model is operating an equipment model as a copy of the shape of the equipment using the target position as a watch point of the human body model based on the physique information about the human body model and the target information;arranging the equipment model and the human body model taking the calculated operating posture in a three-dimensional virtual space, and displaying a view image as an image of the three-dimensional virtual space viewed from a point of view of the human body model taking the operating posture; anddetermining whether or not a visual identification target part is in a range of view of the human body model using information about the visual identification target part as a part of the equipment model to be visually confirmed by the human body model.