Fast Three-Dimensional Posture Reconstruction of Motorcyclists Using OpenPose and a Custom MATLAB Script

Abstract

Ergonomics focuses on the analysis of the interaction between human beings and their working environment. During the riding of a motorbike, ergonomics studies the rider’s posture on the motorbike. An incorrect posture can lead to physical and psychological discomfort, and can affect the perception of risk and the handling of the motorcycle. It is important for motorcyclists to adopt a good riding posture, for their health and road safety. The aim of this work is to propose a fast, cheap, and sufficiently robust method for the 3D reconstruction of the posture assumed by a motorcyclist. The stereo vision and the application of OpenPose made it possible to obtain a 3D reconstruction of the key points, and their evolution over time. The evaluation of the distances between the 3D key points, which represent the length of the various parts of the body, appears to remain sufficiently stable over time, and faithful to the real distances, as taken on the motorcyclist themself. The 3D reconstruction obtained can be applied in different fields: ergonomics, motorsport training, dynamics, and fluid dynamics analysis.