3D human pose keypoints and corresponding joint angle calculation for vision-based WMSD risk assessments

Leyang Wen et al.

Ergonomics2026https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2026.2639614article
AJG 3
Weight
0.50

What the paper says

Vision-based pose estimation, which can utilise ordinary videos, has been applied to assess work-related musculoskeletal disorder (WMSD) risks as a less-intrusive and accessible method. However, the underlying machine learning models are built from generic pose datasets, lacking critical 3D information for calculating high-degree-of-freedom joint angles needed in WMSD risk assessments. We defined a 66-keypoint set specialised for joint angle calculations while containing visual features suitable for vision-based pose estimation and derived corresponding angle calculation steps. To test its usefulness, we collected a 6.7-million-frame dataset featuring 9 categories of manual material handling and assembly tasks to train a baseline pose estimation model for joint angle calculations. Our approach enabled the calculation of 22 angles across 6 body joints for WMSD risk assessments with a mean absolute angle error of 2.4° when a baseline pose estimation model was used, which demonstrates its usefulness for joint angle calculations for WMSD risk assessments.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2026.2639614

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@article{leyang2026,
  title        = {{3D human pose keypoints and corresponding joint angle calculation for vision-based WMSD risk assessments}},
  author       = {Leyang Wen et al.},
  journal      = {Ergonomics},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2026.2639614},
}

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3D human pose keypoints and corresponding joint angle calculation for vision-based WMSD risk assessments

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

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