Developing a digital human modeling toolset: Simulating elderly posture in Grasshopper to optimize living environments

Abstract

The increasing aging population highlights the critical need for elderly-friendly architectural environments. Existing architecture design guidelines often overlook the varied needs of individual differences among the elderly. Digital Human Models (DHMs) offer an effective solution by simulating individual differences and interactions within architectural spaces for the elderly, enabling ergonomic assessments during the design phase of architecture. However, existing DHM platforms have not been integrated with architectural software, limiting designers' ability to receive timely feedback during the design phase. This study addresses this gap by developing a novel DHM toolset on architectural software, Grasshopper, that simulates elderly postures and automatically assesses ergonomic factors like joint angles and comfort levels. Three application scenarios for the toolset were provided: assessing the minimum doorway side space for walker users, determining the handrail position for wheelchair users during the transfer process in the bathroom, and evaluating the comfort level of elderly people getting support postures in the bedroom. The results demonstrate that the toolset can effectively simulate the daily activity postures of the elderly and offer practical design suggestions. The theoretical contribution of this study lies in providing a novel toolset that integrates DHM with architectural design software, offering a new perspective and method for architectural design that considers individual differences among the elderly. Practically, by assessing minimal space and posture comfort, the toolset enables designers to obtain timely ergonomic feedback during the architecture design phase. This ultimately improves architectural design schemes and fosters independence and safety for the elderly in built environments.