Innovations spawned by extensive skills and simulation capacities
To ensure the best possible postural comfort, the vehicle interior must be tailored to the morphology of the driver and passengers. Postural comfort also plays a role in safety. Faurecia delivers seats featuring the best possible design in terms of kinematics, architecture and choice of materials. Postural comfort also has an effect on the automaker's image.
Renault Scenic
Faurecia's expertise in postural comfort can be seen in the driver's seat of the Renault Scenic. Adjustment mechanisms help drivers find the ideal position, and the seat can be raised by some 70 mm, the highest value in the market. Lumbar adjustments are now available on entry-level models. With their wrap-around shape, headrests offer support, comfort and safety.
Ergonomics and simulation
To ensure postural comfort, interior modules must be adjustable and adaptable to the occupant's morphology. Faurecia's teams factor in a number of variables, such as the occupant's height and weight, and the interior's dimensions and design. They also take into account the ergonomic side by ensuring that all adjustment mechanisms are easy to use.
The specifications include the level of comfort required by the manufacturer, the interior's dimensions and the anthropometric data. Faurecia's R&D experts use simulation tools with virtual dummies representing the wide range of body shapes of the occupants in 2D or 3D. The underlying aim is to produce the best possible kinematic design and assess the level of postural comfort achieved at the different stages throughout the development cycle.
With an eye on tomorrow's world, Faurecia is also working on "smart interiors" that automatically adjust to different morphologies and road conditions.