Product forms in quantitative design methods are typically expressed with a mathematical representation such as vectors, trees, graphs, and grammars. Such formal representations are restrictive in terms of realism or flexibility, and this limits their utility for human designers who typically create product forms in a design space that is restricted by the medium (e.g., free-hand sketching) and...

The Civilian American and European Surface Anthropometry Resource (CAESAR) database provides a comprehensive source for body measurement in numerous industries such as apparel, aerospace, and automobile. Generating animated CAESAR body sequences from still surface and landmark data will stimulate research and design in these areas. A tool kit has been developed to convert CAESAR bodies to model...

As resource scarcity and environmental degradation has aroused global concern, new energy vehicles have become the developing trend of automobile industry all over the world. However, there is lack of incentive for innovations on more environmentally friendly automobile technology. This paper introduces endogenous and directed technology progress into the growth model to analyze the decision-ma...

In order to safeguard the future of Chinese automobile industry, and maintain and strengthen its acceptance in Chinese community, it should be made a commitment to sustainability. The approaches to sustainability in Chinese automobile industry should comprise three aspects: nature conservation, production-related environmental protection and “5R” implementation which is considered as sustainabl...

OBJECTIVE To analyze the associations between socioeconomic status (SES) indicators and physical activity and overweight/obesity in children. METHODS 485 children wore accelerometers for 7 days. Variables included time in sedentary behavior and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and steps/day. Children were further categorized as meeting or not meeting guidelines of ≥60min/day MVP...

Many fatal accidents due to falls from heights have occurred at construction sites not only in Japan but also in other countries. This study aims to determine the fall prevention performance of two types of safety belts: a body belt1), which has been used for more than 40 yr in the Japanese construction industry as a general type of safety equipment for fall accident prevention, and a full harn...

The automobile Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) is hard to design and implement due to its real time features and increasing complexity. Some automobile RTOS standards are released aiming at unifying the software architecture of vehicle systems. Most of the standards are presented informally in natural languages, which may lead to not only ambiguities in specifications but also difficulties in...

This paper presents the available technique and discusses the difficulties to implement intelligent robots in nextgeneration automobile assembly. First, it presents the status of automobile assembly line, analyzes the problems and difficulties of current industrial robots-based assembly systems, and summarizes the technology needed to overcome the problems and difficulties. Then, it presents th...