Shadow-scanned human models for car seating design

Driver comfort has been studied as part of wider research concerned with many life-cycle aspects of seating design and manufacture. Road and laboratory trials were used to generate new information for incorporation within the SAMMIE computer-aided ergonomic design system. Shadow-scanning methods for capturing anthropometric data are described together with methods for the conversion of three-dimensional coordinate data into surface model representations and methods for data reduction whilst maintaining anthropometric precision. Use of the model and finite element methods in predicting pressure distributions is presented as a potential method for generating comfort measures and estimating eye/hip displacements due to flesh/seat deformation.