Title: A light weight car seat shaped by human body contour

Authors: M. Franz; I. Kamp; A. Durt; Ü. Kilincsoy; H. Bubb; P. Vink

Addresses: BMW AG Forschungs- und Innovationszentrum Knorrstrasse 147, D-80788 München, Germany. ' BMW AG Forschungs- und Innovationszentrum Knorrstrasse 147, D-80788 München, Germany. ' BMW AG Forschungs- und Innovationszentrum Knorrstrasse 147, D-80788 München, Germany. ' BMW AG Forschungs- und Innovationszentrum Knorrstrasse 147, D-80788 München, Germany. ' Lehrstuhl für Ergonomie, Technische Universität München, Boltzmannstrasse 15 D-85747 Garching, Germany. ' Industrial Design Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Landbergstraat 15, 2628 CE Delft, The Netherlands

Abstract: The aim of this study is to develop a light-weight, comfortable seat. The idea is to shape a seat with a minimum of material by using the contour of the seated human. Twenty-five participants were asked to sit in a vacuum mattress placed on a wooden seat frame with similar angles as the car seat construction angles. They were instructed to sit in a comfortable position and perform driving movements. The mattress was then fixed, the contour scanned and digitised. All scans were superimposed giving input for a seat shell design made out of glass fibre laminate. The comfort experience of the shell was tested by 25 participants and compared with a standard BMW seat. The study shows that it is possible to create a rather comfortable seat using the human surface anatomy. However, more research on defining the specific form for the ideal shell is needed.

Keywords: seat requirements; sitting comfort; lightweight car seats; seat shell; seat development; seat design; comfort experience; human body contours; digital contours; vehicle design; glass fibre laminates; comfortable seating; human surface anatomy.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHFMS.2011.045002

International Journal of Human Factors Modelling and Simulation, 2011 Vol.2 No.4, pp.314 - 326

Published online: 22 Oct 2014 *

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