Development of anthropometric database for ASEAN NCAP: A case study of Malaysian children aged 6 years old

Abstract

With the rapid growth of human populations throughout the globe, physical characteristics of human body composition may have significant variation, particularly in height and weight. Access to this information is vital for any product development programs, especially when it comes to safety aspects; hence it is particularly important to the New Car Assessment Program for Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN NCAP) as the champion of vehicle safety in ASEAN region. This paper aims to describe the development of anthropometric database for ASEAN NCAP. Tasks such as identification of important anthropometric parameters, methodology of measurement and data analysis are explained. A total of 42 anthropometric parameters were measured using direct measuring methods; however only 8 parameters are discussed in this paper. As a case study, a total of 143 Malaysian children aged 6 years old have participated in the anthropometric measurement activity. Statistical information including the mean, standard deviation, 5th percentile, 50th percentile and 95th percentile for each parameter for various body dimensions were tabulated. The collected data and mean of 42 parameters are utilised further for the development of digital 3D-models (using SolidWorks) of the Malaysian children aged 6 years old.