DHM simulation in virtual environments: a case-study on control room design Zamberlan, M a,* , Santos, V b , Streit, P a , Oliveira, J a , Cury, R a , Negri, T a , Pastura, F a , Guimarães, C a and Cid, G a a Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia, INT. Avenida Venezuela, 82, Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brasil - 20081-312 b Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro - PUC-Rio. Rua Marquês de São Vicente, 225, Gávea, Rio de Janeiro, RJ - Brasil - 22451-900 Abstract. This paper will present the workflow developed for the application of serious games in the design of complex cooperative work settings. The project was based on ergonomic studies and development of a control room among participative design process. Our main concerns were the 3D human virtual representation acquired from 3D scanning, human interaction, workspace layout and equipment designed considering ergonomics standards. Using Unity3D platform to design the virtual environment, the virtual human model can be controlled by users on dynamic scenario in order to evaluate the new work settings and simulate work activities. The results obtained showed that this virtual technology can drastically change the design process by improving the level of interaction between final users and, managers and human factors team. Keywords: digital human model, simulation, virtual environment, motion capture * Venétia Santos. E-mail: ergon@ergonprojetos.com.br 1. Introduction The research in serious games has been a focus issue for Government and corporate organizations, applied on training, simulation and education. There is a clear need for considering new frameworks, theories, methods and design strategies for making serious games applications and virtual world technologies more effective and useful as part of education, health and training. Virtual simulation has been used in Ergonomics for the design of control centers, transport design and product evaluation. (SANTOS, V., et al. 2009, SANTOS,V. et al. 2008, GUIMARÃES, C. P. et al. 2010). The aim of this paper is to discuss the use of serious games applied in a control room design and how virtual reality and game engines may improve the workflow for the design of complex cooperative situations. The project’s context was to find a way to improve and accelerate participative design process for a new emergency control room. Due to a low level of availability and dispersion of stakeholders, it was decided to explore how serious games may improve the participative design. From a human factors point of view, there are strong constraints because: (1) future users must not only “see” their future work- settings in a virtual space but also be able to project their future actions in order to anticipate the pros and cons of the new situation,(2) the workflow must be very dynamic in order to maintain a momentum for the participative process. The different versions of serious games must be synchronized with the organizational process. With modern game engines, this constraint may be easily satisfied; and (3) reusability of virtual material (both objects and movements) is also an important issue. Another important aspect regarding this specific project is to reproduce cognitive features. In other words, one user should be able to visualize the others' intentions, processes and actions trajectories in order to make decisions, such as where someone is looking at, their reactions to adversities, "volume" of communication, dispersion and others. In this context, one of the main concerns was the 3D human virtual representation. Other important issues studied were human interaction, workspace Work 41 (2012) 2243-2247 DOI: 10.3233/WOR-2012-0446-2243 IOS Press 1051-9815/12/$27.50 © 2012 – IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved 2243