Ergonomic evaluation of manual force levels of the elderly in the handling of products: An analysis using virtual reality

Abstract

Data from the World Health Organization - WHO [1] estimated that from 2000 to 2050, there will be a threefold increase in the population over 60-year-old population, which will rise to nearly 2 billion. It is important to designer understand the aging process and its peculiarities, such as those issues that affect cognitive issues and physical skills, thus enabling the understanding of products targeted on elderly people. The Virtual Reality via using haptic gloves to simulate everyday activities (EDAs) in a virtual environment. Thus, it is intended that this technology will enable the study of the measurement of forces applied in performing tasks. Data on measuring the levels of manual strength in the virtual environment were not found in the literature. Based on the data obtained in this review of the literature, the intention is to simulate elderly peoplés manual activities with a view to quantifying levels of force. © 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland.