20th International CODATA Conference
Session: Towards the Increased Use and Availability of Anthropometric Data for Engineering  (WEAR SESSION)

XML Based Networking Method for Connecting Distributed Anthropometric Databases

Kathleen Robinette, USAF AFRL, US

Authors: Huaining Cheng and Kathleen Robinette, USAF AFRL, US

Anthropometric data are used by numerous types of organizations for health evaluation, ergonomics, apparel sizing, fitness training, and many other applications.  Data have been collected and stored in electronic databases since at least the 1940s, and while there are many standards, few anthropometric studies are alike in terminology, procedures or measurement set.  Two studies may collect the same measurement but label it differently or refer to different measurements by the same name.  For example, the measurement called waist circumference is collected by some researchers at a location that is referred to as the minimum indent of the torso and by others at the location where people prefer the waist of their clothes.  These locations can be 100 mm or more apart and the resulting measurements can be quite different.  Add different languages in the country of origin to the mix and it is easy to see that organizing worldwide anthropometry data into a single database architecture could be a daunting and expensive undertaking.  Fortunately, XML schema and webservices provide an alternative method for networking databases, referred to as a Loose Distribution Method.  A standard XML schema is defined and used as a type of Rosetta stone to translate and a webservices system is set up to link the translated databases together.  In this way, the originators of the data can keep their data locally along with their own data management system and user interface, but their data can be searched, accessed as part of the larger data network, and even combined with the data of others.  A new XML schema concept will be described, and an example of its possible use for networking anthropometry will be presented.

Keywords: anthropometry, network, XML schema