Calls for papers

 

International Journal of Vehicle Design

 

Special Issue on: "Ergonomic and Industrial Design of Road Vehicles"

Guest Editors:
Assoc. Prof André Liem, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
Prof. Matthew Reed, University of Michigan, USA
Prof. Michael Tovey, Coventry University, UK

Circumstances which vehicle manufacturers are facing due to the emergence of new economies are shifting in a seismic way. From an overarching socio-economic perspective, broad aspects of sustainability, such as carbon footprint and fossil fuel issues, as well as the credit crunch and possible world-wide recession, may influence this shift. These circumstances will have a tremendous impact on the issues which designers and ergonomists have to address in modern vehicle design.

This brings new challenges for modern vehicle design, emphasising on Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), safety, comfort, and energy consumption. In addition, end-user requirements for the purchase of a vehicle, whether for private or corporate use, are mostly dominated by the element of “service” and “emotion”.

Emerging new services related to vehicle and instrumentation design include location-based and navigation services, logistics and fleet management, information services and office applications. Multimedia and entertainment services are predicted to be among the highest value applications.

To keep in pace with the evolution of the modern vehicle as well as to achieve a high standard of multi-tasking flexibility and driving experience, not only technical-functional design and development should be prioritised. Ergonomic functionality, such as comfort and safety, as well as aesthetic and brand identity, are equally important factors in the vehicle design industry. Considering specific target groups, older drivers are an increasing percentage of the design population for both private and commercial vehicles. The physical and cognitive capabilities of these important users create new challenges for the technological and aesthetic design of vehicles and interiors. To establish coherence in vehicle design, close collaboration among various disciplines including automotive engineers, automotive /industrial designers and vehicle ergonomists is necessary.

Automotive design or industrial design within the vehicle industry is mainly concerned with the development of the appearance, emotional value and to some extent the ergonomics of motorised vehicles or more specifically road vehicles. Vehicle ergonomics concentrate on the understanding of anthropometric, cognitive and workspace issues with an emphasis on the individual-vehicle implications of human machine interface (HMI), particularly safe interaction with in-vehicle information systems.

This special issue provides a global forum for presenting authoritative references, academically rigorous research and case studies in both theoretical development and applied research. The aim of this special issue is to capture and publish the latest articles on a variety of topics related to ergonomic and industrial design of road-vehicles.

Subject Coverage
Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• Use of digital human models for ergonomic analysis of vehicle interiors
• Advanced anthropometric methods for representing vehicle occupants
• Modelling subjective responses for vehicle ergonomic assessments
• Methods and processes in form development
• Seat design for comfort and safety
• Computational modelling of seat ergonomics
• Functional anthropometry for vehicle interior design
• Industrial and ergonomic design issues related to ageing drivers
• Vehicle computer-aided design and ergonomics
• Interior vehicle design and customisation
• Design and styling of the vehicle's external body
• Brand and identity development
• Interface design of integrated and customised communication equipment
• The influence of designers in cost sharing through the introduction of common platforms
• Teamwork in car design and development: interactions among industrial designers, ergonomists and engineers

Notes for Prospective Authors

Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere

All papers are refereed through a peer review process. A guide for authors, sample copies and other relevant information for submitting papers are available on the Author Guidelines page

Important Dates

Submission of draft manuscript: 31 May, 2009

Feedback to authors and notification of acceptance/rejection: 1 August, 2009

Submission of revised manuscript: 1 October, 2009