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The industry standard for developing seats follows a path that begins with
a point representing the hip joint of an SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) tool, goes through
styling, and eventually becomes a series of prototype seats that are built for
iteratively ride testing. ERL takes the vehicle architecture for Heel point, accelerator, knee
bolster, steering wheel, IP and IRVM to constrain the driver's task geometry. Then,
ERL uses the scanned seating surface and stiffnesses of the seat cushion and back to define
the seat support for drivers ranging from small female to large male sitting in slumped,
neutral and erect back postures. The optimal fit of each occupant (incl. Oscar) is
calculated and the resulting Comfort Score from the math data is used to evaluate the
prototype seat. The results are compared to the benchmark and the Supplier can take
these math data to re-design the seat to maximize comfort for the targeted market for the
vehicle. The next ride confirms the change and production, rather than another
iteration, is the next step.
In the automotive development process, the prototype is placed in a vehicle package (i.e.
the "mule") equivalent to the new vehicle and a selection of different size drivers operate
the vehicle and assess seat comfort. The problem arises when the data are compiled and
the comments must be interpreted. Without a photograph of how the driver sat in the seat,
alternative explanations are often the result that must then be interpreted for design
guidance. With ERL results, the picture and the results are in the math data without
need for subjective interpretation. Thus, ERL saves time and money of multiple iterations
by providing guidance that solves the problems after one ride.
ERLRUN_3R1 for Prototype Evaluation
1. Seat meets patch criteria from ERLRUN_2R1 or exceeds ERLRUN_BR1
2. Seats meets meat-to-metal criteria
3. Seat passes static H-point test of SgRP
4. Seat passes static test of FMVSS 202a
5. Seat stiffness equals benchmark stiffness
6. Seat meets or exceeds comfort of ERLRUN_BR1
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