Köln, Februari 19th 2020
The COMFDEMO project has been going on for a couple of months now. One of the project goals is to share the results on a regular basis. One channel we use to share our results are workshops. Simultaneously workshops are a great way to get feedback and insights from the others. Therefore, Dr. Vink facilitated a workshop during the IQPC Köln on the 19th of February.
Participants attending this workshop were specialists in the field of seat design. Dr. Vink started off with a short presentation about our recent insight in the factors influencing in-flight comfort. The factors we have defined can be grouped in two categories. The categories are: 1. Seats (Dimensions, Colour, Stiffness, Inclination) and 2. Environment (Vibration, sound/noise, temperature, odor/smell, CO2, light)
Next, three groups were created and asked to discuss the aforementioned factors influencing in-flight comfort. Moreover, the groups were asked to link the factors to seating comfort of self-driving cars. Specifically, they were asked to discuss what should be altered in these interiors to optimize the defined factors for self-driving cars. Finally, they were asked to select a top-3 most important and least important factors.
The results
Group 1 selected from the seat as most important: inclination, stiffness and motion comfort (preventing movements that restrict tasks). For the environment this group selected noise, smell and functional interior. The latter means that it should facilitate activities.
Group 2 selected a top four for the seat: dimensions, color, stiffness (of the cushion) and inclination . For the environment they chose: vibration, roominess (of legroom) and microclimate. Microclimate can be defined as the climate around the human body.
Group 3 selected for a combination of seat/environment: dimensions, temperature and hygiene/cleanliness. The latter was a clean feel and a clean smell.
Overall, Roominess/dimensions was mentioned by all three groups. Seat Inclination, seat stiffness, Microclimate/Temperature and Vibration/Motion in two. Other factors were mentioned only once. Thus, we can conclude that the attendees defined the following factors as most important:
- Roominess
- Seat inclination
- Seat stiffness
- Vibration
- Climate
The results from this workshop will be used to further improve the research program and the design of COMFDEMO.
