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Postural comfort means ensuring that the seat,
steering wheel, pedals and controls, not to mention the footrest or armrest,
are in the right place for every occupant and every road condition.
It is a key expectation for the end-user: everybody wants a painless,
fatigue-free journey, and for the driver, postural comfort is also a safety
issue.
To ensure postural comfort,
interior modules have to be adjustable in order to adapt each place in
the car to its occupant. Their design has to take a number of factors
into consideration: anthropometrical diversity, the vehicle's interior
dimensions, its architecture and the rules of ergonomics
regarding adjustment perception, understanding and biomechanics.
Automakers expect Faurecia
to propose the best interior concepts in term of kinematics, architecture
and material in order to match the vehicle's specifications and image
as a whole. In response, Faurecia has developed a three-step methodology:
Input: the automaker's comfort
target, the vehicle's interior dimensions and relevant anthropometrical
data are put together at the beginning of the project and turned into
technical, detailed specifications.
Design: at this stage, simulation
tools are used with virtual dummies representing anthropometrical diversity
in either 2 or 3 dimensions. They enable the kinematic design to be optimized,
and give an objective and predictive evaluation of postural comfort.
Testing: Faurecia has developed
a vast range of tools in order to quantify and analyze comfort on mock-ups
at the different stages of development. The testing methods are shared
with the automakers in order to be included in the specifications, and
to facilitate dialogue.
This methodology, which is
already applied on ongoing projects, helps decrease development time and
improve product definition in line with automakers' expectations. It also
supports the innovation process by highlighting possible new solutions
for comfort improvement, such as new adjustments, kinematic coupling and
adjustable armrests.
In the future, Faurecia expects
to combine its expertise in postural comfort with the latest advances
in technology and electronics to provide "smart interiors" that
will adjust automatically to body sizes and driving conditions.
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