Elementary Ergonomics is an introduction to basic physical ergonomics theory and practice for students of other – than Industrial Design Engineering of Delft University of Technology – institutes for higher learning, such as Dutch universities, universities of EU and non-EU countries, and universities of applied sciences. The course consists of the following topics: anthropometry (1D, 2D, 3D including digital human modelling), biomechanics, and comfort.

Furthermore, the role of user involvement in the design process (evaluation of existing products and environments and of created concepts, models and prototypes) will be explained. Moreover, the meaning and representation of use cues in product design will be highlighted.

The course materials will be available in OpenCourseWare. Each ergonomic topic is introduced in an online lecture and followed by a related assignment. The last part of the course consists of a user research assignment. Students evaluate the usage of an existing product resulting in recommendations for product improvements.

In the second quarter of the academic year, a series of weekly meetings are scheduled for students of universities of applied sciences who participate in the bridging program, in which they receive feedback on their completed assignments.

  • Gaining knowledge of basic physical ergonomics theory and related skills to apply this knowledge.
  • Become acquainted with user evaluation techniques.
  • Setting up and performing a basic user research with an existing product and deliberately selected users.
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Elementary Ergonomics by TU Delft OpenCourseWare is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://ocw.tudelft.nl/courses/elementary-ergonomics/.
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