This Master’s graduation thesis is a project elaborated for the automotive manufacturer BMW AG. It explores the possibilities given by soft robotic technology to improve comfort while sitting in self-driving vehicles. The project focuses on a specific scenario: a seat that enhances the relaxation experience on the car for long distance travels. An extensive literature research is done on comfort for seat design, soft robotics and BMW strategy on autonomous driving.
Prototypes and material tests are made to understand the possibilities with pneumatic soft actuators, resulting in design directions and requirements.
Concepts are developed by merging soft robotics capabilities together with design opportunities for improve seat’s adaptability. A Machine Learning model is used to train a textile pneumatic actuator to automatically being able to predict its shape via an optical sensing system. This proves the concept’s feasibility. At the end of the thesis, the final concept design, named LightFit, is proposed. The latter is an automated seat with inflatable soft robotic components embedded in its structure that allow the seat to change shape. The ultimate goal of LightFit is to provide long-term comfort by adapting itself to the user’s body contour and by inducing micro-movements that can decrease perceived discomfort over prolonged sitting.

This project was developed at the ‘Advanced Manufacturing’ department at the faculty for Industrial Design Engineering, which focuses on improving new and promising customized design and fabrication techniques using computational solutions. The aim of this project was to create a new design for a 3d printed forearm brace. Implementing this new design could promote the radical move in fracture treatment from traditional plaster casting to 3d printed braces.

Background
Plaster casting has been the preferred treatment method for fractured bones since the 19th century, mainly because it’s cheap and effective. However practical, casting still has its flaws. Problems arise in terms of user-friendliness and hygiene (e.g. the smell, the feeling of being trapped and of course the endless itching). Today, almost two centuries later, new production methods provide the opportunity for a radical change in fracture treatment. 3D printing in combination with 3d scanning allows for the fabrication of a personalized and open structured cast, relieving the patient of some of the problems that arise with traditional casting. However, despite their potential there are still certain problems with these new braces which prevent practitioners from choosing them over traditional plaster casts.

Problem area
One of the main problem areas in both traditional casting and 3d printed braces turned out to be coping with swelling. For the current generation of 3d printed braces this swelling leads to ‘window edema’, which renders the brace useless during a large part of the healing process. These braces can only be used during the last stage of the healing process. In this stage the advantage of creating a perfect fit to the form arm which is possible through 3d scanning is lost. Additionally, there are already plenty of alternatives to casts in this stage in the form of ‘pre-manufactured braces’.

Solution
This design builds on the current generation of 3d printed braces and aims to prevent swelling from pushing through the open structure of the brace by attaching fabric on the inside of the brace. This design shows a new production technique which allows for fast and precise attachment of the fabric to the inside of the brace. More specifically, the advantage of 3d printing is to quickly create highly customized products. This design integrates the cutting and sizing of the fabric in such a way that it perfectly fits the customized brace.