Interface pressure and the prediction of car seat discomfort

The technique of interface pressure measurement has generated considerable interest in the automotive industry as a method, which could be used to predict driver discomfort during the development of prototype seat designs. Two repeated measures experiments were carried out to evaluate the practical application of the technique. The variables of foam density and posture were used to create discomfort, the whole emphasis of the work being to generate results with real-world applicability. A clear, simple and consistent relationship between interface pressure and driving discomfort was not identified. Future studies using this technique should provide information regarding such factors as gender, body mass, anthropometric data, posture and foam hardness due to the confounding nature of these variables. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.