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Current potential research project
Development of an integrated seat pressure sensor for motor car
- Supervisors: Dr Paul Gunther and Dr Hung-Yao Hsu
- Area: Ergonomics, Automotive Engineering, Mechanical Engineering
- Abstract: Seat cushion and seatback pressure is considered an important factor for driver seat discomfort in vehicles. It is normally measured using pressure measurement mats (e.g. TEKSCAN, NOVEL) in lab environments. Alternatively, it is being simulated from FEM data for foams and human thighs/buttocks. The data is an important contribution to the automotive seat manufacturers design process. As seat pressure measurements have a very poor repeatability, simulated data is preferred to the measured data. Nevertheless, very few models are available for simulation, which do not represent the variability of humans and seats. Once installed in a vehicle, seat pressure can be either improved by positioning the seat or for few high-end seats, by inflating/deflating air cushions in the seat. Because of the multidimensional and time-variant positioning/inflating procedure, drivers are typically unable to optimize the seat pressure for a comfortable posture.
- Related references: Not provided
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