Quantification of buttock deformation on a rigid seat

The interaction between the human body and seats is a complex area of research. Due to the biological variation of soft tissues across human beings and the differences in research methods between investigators, the scientific knowledge on buttock deformation is inadequate. To achieve an objective characterization of how the buttock deforms during sitting, a new method was developed involving a motion capture system. With this method, correlations were identified between buttock compression and various anthropometric measurements obtained. Additionally, the method provided relevant insight into the variation in buttock deformation attributes across body-type categories. The results obtained were found applicable to digital human modelling, which is often used in the anthropometric assessment of various seated tasks.