Engineering Anthropometry of the External Ear for Human-Product Interaction: Methods and Applications of Physical Comfort Experience

This open access book provides a comprehensive and practical connection between human-centered design and real-world comfort optimization, transforming complex ear anthropometric data into accessible knowledge for design applications. It introduces an innovative framework that integrates ear geometry, perception of comfort, and ergonomic principles to enable designers and engineers to predict, evaluate, and enhance product fit even before physical prototyping begins. The content draws on extensive experimental research and data modeling, presenting measurable indicators such as deformation ratios, expansion indexes, and dynamic comfort curves that serve as reliable references for inclusive and precise product development. Through detailed illustrations, percentile tables, and clearly structured models, the book presents data and findings in a visually engaging and educational format. Readers will appreciate its rigorous methodology, scientific clarity, and the way it translates quantitative measurements into meaningful design guidance. The main benefit lies in its ability to transform complex anthropometric information into a practical design language that improves the comfort and usability of wearable products. This work is intended for designers, engineers, ergonomists, and researchers seeking to integrate human measurement science with comfort-based design innovation.

Dr. Hao Fan is an Associate Professor at Northwestern Polytechnical University, where he directs the Wearable Ergonomics and Design Lab and serves as Assistant to the Director of the Key Laboratory of Ergonomics and Industrial Design, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. He received his PhD degree from Northwestern Polytechnical University and completed a joint-PhD training program at the University of California Berkeley. Before returning to his current position, he held research and faculty appointments at Zhejiang University and Southeast University (China). Dr. Fan has engaged in external ear anthropometry research for more than ten years, establishing a solid foundation in ergonomic measurement, modeling, and comfort evaluation. Dr. Fan’s research focuses on ergonomic risk control and design strategies for wearable devices, emphasizing the integration of human–machine interaction, physiological assessment, and design translation. He has published more than 60 academic papers and holds over 10 granted patents in these domains. Dr. Fan has led or contributed to over 20 research and industrial projects, with practical achievements widely applied in smart wearable product development and aviation ergonomic design, advancing both academic and industrial progress in the field.

Professor Dengkai Chen is a Professor at Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU). He received PhD degree in Computer-Aided Industrial Design from Northwestern Polytechnical University. He currently serves as the Director of the Department of Industrial Design, the Key Laboratory of Industrial Design and Human–Machine Ergonomics, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the Shaanxi Laboratory of Industrial Design Engineering. Professor Chen has led or participated in more than ten national scientific research projects. He has presided over ten major industrial design projects in key engineering fields such as manned spaceflight and manned deep-sea submersibles. He has published over 150 academic papers, authored seven books and textbooks, and holds more than 100 national patents. His primary research interests include product innovation design, design philosophy, technical aesthetics, and ergonomics design. He has completed numerous ergonomics research projects in manned spaceflight, aviation, and deep-sea operations, establishing a systematic ergonomics design and analysis framework. This framework covers diverse domains such as layout assessment and optimal design for confined compartments, visual ergonomics assessment, human factors reliability analysis in manned submersibles, dynamic risk evaluation for complex operational systems, performance assessment of special operators, and comprehensive evaluation of operational comfort and maintainability. 

Dr. Mengcheng Wang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Industrial Design, Xi’an University of Technology. She received her PhD degree from Northwestern Polytechnical University and completed a joint-PhD program at the School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley. Dr. Wang has been engaged in ergonomic risk control and design optimization research for wearable devices, with more than 10 years of experience in external ear anthropometry and wearable comfort modeling. She has led or participated in ergonomics research and design projects for leading international companies, including Tesla, Liberty Mutual, Google, Huawei, and AVIC, bridging academic research with industrial innovation. Her research focuses on human–machine interaction, biomechanical modeling, and multimodal comfort evaluation in wearable systems. Dr Wang’s interdisciplinary research integrates neural and physiological signal analysis, machine learning, and ergonomic design methodologies, contributing to the development of human-centered design frameworks for smart wearables and interactive products.