Measurement of Disassembly Work Using Optical Motion Capture

Abstract

In recent years, the depletion of natural resources has been severe globally. One of the solutions to this problem is to reuse and recycle materials from end-of-life (EOL) products and reduce waste. In the industrial field, disassembly work is needed to take back parts/materials from the end-of-life assembly products. Furthermore, in the manufacturing industry, there are human resource development or skill transfer issues due to a declining birth rate and an aging population as well as a labor shortage in developed countries. In particular, in Japan, the population aged 65 and overreached 28.8% of the total population in 2019, and the labor shortage has become more serious. To resolve these issues, the digitization of skills through optical motion capture is promoted in this industry, where three-dimensional coordinate data of workers can be accurately measured. Toshiba Corporation has introduced motion capture for achieving more effective guidance and skill transfer at the work site. However, data related to disassembly were not obtained via motion capture. This study measures and analyzes the motion data for disassembly work obtained via optical motion capture. First, the motion data for disassembly work is obtained via optical motion capture. Next, the data obtained is shown graphically and compared by body part. Finally, the results are shown and discussed.