A Human-Centered Design Procedure for Conceptualization Using Virtual Reality Prototyping Applied in an Inflight Lavatory

For designing large-scale products like an airplane, engaging end-users in the concept phase is difficult. However, early user evaluation is important to choose the path which fits the user’s needs best. In particular, comfort-related assessments are difficult to conduct with digital models that are shown on a desktop PC application. Digital...

Sleep quality and (dis)comfort in minimal space envelope

Sleep facilities in aircrafts, trains, busses, ships, submarines, (autonomous) cars, and other vehicles often have a limited space due to economic and/or operational reasons. Providing an effective and comfortable sleep is important for passenger satisfaction (e.g. to justify surplus prices) and crew effectiveness and operational safety (e.g. in...

Use pressure data below seat cushions to evaluate comfort

During a flight, passengers spend most of their time sitting in their seats. Studying the comfort and discomfort while passengers are sitting is helpful to improve the overall comfort during a flight. Pressure mats are commonly used in studies to collect pressure distribution in order to research sitting comfort. Different from most past studies...

Objective comparison of two cushions: pressure distribution and postural perceived discomfort

Designing seats is crucial not only for health issues but also for the (dis)comfort perception. The seat pan design could be mainly influenced by two factors: pressure distribution and seat contour. For seat pan discomfort, the lower average pressure is accompanied by less discomfort. Moreover, a seat contour with a large contact area is...

The influence of the angle of attack on passenger comfort

The angle of attack (AOA) of an airplane changes the direction of the gravitational force on passengers and thereby might influence passengers’ flying experience. However, the contribution of the AOA regarding comfort/discomfort is not fully explored. In this paper, we aim to fill this knowledge gap by identifying the relationships between the...

On the objective assessment of comfort

In this paper, a literature study is presented on the types of objective measures that can contribute to the prediction of (dis)comfort, the feasibility of measuring those factors, and the potential of building a model based on them. Results indicate that in addition to subjective measurements, objective measures might help us to understand the...

Chaise Longue: Passenger perception of more spacious economy class seats in the same pitch

Usually, the economy class has limited space and limited recline possibilities causing discomfort, especially on long haul flights. In this paper, a seat was developed creating more space by using thevertical space in the aircraft. The design is described and 59% preferred this seat based on visual impression, which is promising. Further...

Exploring factors influencing visual comfort in an aircraft cabin

Visual stimulus might influence comfort of passengers in air travel. For a better understanding of the visual comfort, it is crucial to identify the constructs of the visual stimulus in the cabin and the contributions of different elements. A two-step approach was adopted in this study where in the first step, several creative sessions were...

Discomfort Threshold Evaluation for Hand and Elbow Regions: A Basis for Hand-Held Device Design

This study aimed to analyse the discomfort threshold (that could be linked to sensitivity or sensation) of different regions in hand and elbow to support hand-held devices' design. Indeed, there are no studies regarding the hand and elbow discomfort threshold or sensitivity. To overcome these literature gaps, the discomfort threshold of hand...

A Staggered Seat is Beneficial for the Flying V Aircraft

Staggered seats might be a solution for a V-shaped aircraft (the Flying V). The cabin longitudinal axis of this airplane has a 26° angle with respect to the direction of flight. When seats are positioned in the direction of flight, they consequently have an angle to the cabin and become staggered. It is unknown whether the comfort of this...

Development of physical discomfort of airline pilots during prolonged sitting

Discomfort was recorded by 26 airline pilots during flight. Thirteen reported their discomfort during a long haul flight and 13 completed the questionnaires during short haul flights. Discomfort values increased with time to high values, but with a modest decrease towards the end of the flight. Most discomfort was reported in the low back area....

Development and optical performance tests of the Si immersed grating demonstrator for E-ELT METIS

<br/>Immersed gratings offer several advantages over conventional gratings: more compact spectrograph designs, and by using standard semiconductor industry techniques, higher diffraction-efficiency and lower stray-light can be achieved. We present the optical tests of the silicon immersed grating demonstrator for the Mid-infrared E-ELT Imager...

The effects of a Task facilitating Working Environment on office space use, communication, concentration, collaboration, privacy and distraction

Recent advances on quasi-static response of ship and offshore structures