The automotive industry is looking at improving their new cars in different ways. Comfortability is a hot topic since it is dependent on so many aspects. The entire interior of the car influences how comfortable the end user is. Furthermore, autonomous vehicles are rising. That means that people have a lot of time to do other things while commuting, an activity that sticks out is relaxing and sleeping. The reclining of a car seat usually is arranged in one joint between the seat pan and the backrest. That means that the entire backrest is straight. However, the spine moves differently. This research shows that especially in a laying position the spine is quite rounded. To be able to support the body and optimize comfort, it would be ideal to have the seat follow this movement of the human body. After the research, ideation and conceptualization were performed. From this, a final concept direction was chosen and improved on the hand of anthropometric design. In the end, a simplified working prototype was constructed. The evaluation test was perceived as relatively good but also showed improvement points, as stated in the final recommendations. To conclude, the principle of creating a more rounded backrest works, and the prototype scored slightly lower on comfortability than the original seat. The concept has the potential to improve the comfortability of car seating.

The interior design of vehicles is evolving rapidly due to technological advancements, sustainability demands, and shifting user behaviors. Vehicle interiors need to become lighter to reduce energy consumption while maintaining comfort levels. The rise of global trends such as automated driving, new propulsion methods in aviation, and the increasing popularity of long-distance and sleeper trains necessitate innovative interior designs. These designs should enable productivity, relaxation, and sleep while in transit.

This doctoral dissertation provides design guidelines for creating comfortable and practical seating and sleeping environments in various vehicles, including trains, aircraft, automated cars, ships, and submarines. The research emphasizes the importance of considering human activities and the effects of time when studying comfort and discomfort. It highlights that factors like prior activities, movements during tests, postures, and awareness of time can all influence comfort levels. The findings show that discomfort tends to stabilize or decrease over time, while comfort tends to stabilize or increase, particularly as participants become aware of the test duration.

One approach to designing comfortable, lightweight seats is to base them on the human contour. By using 3D scans to map the human body, material can be reduced without significantly affecting comfort. This method has been successfully applied to aircraft seats in various classes, demonstrating that weight and volume can be reduced while maintaining or even improving comfort. Additionally, optimizing pressure distribution, using porous materials, and employing topology-optimized structures can further reduce seat weight and enhance comfort. These advancements are crucial for reducing the environmental impact of future vehicle interior designs.

Sleeping is a critical activity for long-haul passengers, but it is often challenging in transit. The dissertation explores sleep in a full-flat position, noting that while people need space to move during sleep, limited space in vehicles can negatively impact sleep quality and comfort. Although space can be reduced by about 25% without severely compromising sleep quality, designers must carefully balance the sleep space envelope with other factors such as economics, weight, and operational safety.

Another common activity in vehicles is watching in-vehicle entertainment (IVE) or napping in a reclined seat. The research shows that while people prefer a slouched posture for watching IVE, this position often lacks proper head and neck support. Although a headrest can improve comfort, it does not necessarily reduce muscle activity. A head sensitivity model developed in the dissertation suggests that high pressures around the ear, temple, and neck should be avoided, and that most of the head's load should be supported by the back of the head and the jawline.

The dissertation’s main research question explores the physical ergonomic factors that influence seating, relaxing, and sleeping comfort. The findings show that considering human contours, sensitivity, behavior, and time can lead to more comfortable and effective seating and sleeping environments in vehicles. While the dissertation makes significant strides in understanding these factors, further research is needed to develop more detailed guidelines, particularly for designing sleeping environments in transit. The research concludes that seat design should be activity-based, accommodating natural behaviors and posture variations to enhance user comfort and safety.

The objective of this project is to examine the effects of new technology in car seats on fatigue and discomfort. The first step involves defining the fatigue framework and selecting an appropriate assessment method. Since different studies suggest that the definition of fatigue can vary in different situations, a street interview was conducted to explore the type of fatigue relevant to the context of this project. The literature review and street interviews indicated subjective measurements of fatigue, including sleepiness, sore limbs, backaches, headaches, numbness, and stiff muscles. The objective measurements include Electromyography and Heart Rate Variability.

A pilot test was conducted which revealed certain drawbacks in the testing process. Subsequently, these issues were addressed in the formal test. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) form was introduced to assess discomfort in local muscles, comfort, and fatigue symptoms, in addition to the subjective measurements. Leg circumference was also measured to indicate blood flow.

The formal test took place over 150 minutes per person in Rotterdam, with 16 participants. Data were recorded while participants were seated in the chairs.

The data analysis indicates a clear conclusion regarding the evaluation of the seats: the technology integrated into the seats demonstrates a positive effect on fatigue and perceived discomfort in the shoulder, mid, and leg regions, as evidenced by EMG and VAS discomfort scores.

As the automotive industry advances towards greater autonomy, the landscape of car travel is evolving. The integration of reclined seating within vehicles, made possible without major alterations to traditional layouts, presents a promising avenue for enhancing passenger experiences. This shift, however, comes with unique safety challenges due to the changed seating dynamics.
Research, including insights from General Motors, Volvo & Volkswagen emphasizes the need for innovative safety solutions for reclined seating. Simulations comparing three-point and four-point seat belt configurations, in both upright and reclined positions, reveal advantages for the latter at higher speeds. This configuration produces a more balanced force distribution during impacts, away from vital areas.
While the potential of a four-point restraint system is evident, implementation hurdles arise. Addressing both safety and comfort, a study assesses the user experience for both systems. Building on these insights, a convertible restraint system is proposed, seamlessly transitioning from a three-point to a four-point configuration based on passenger position. This adaptable design merges safety and comfort effectively.
The proposed design requires the redesign of certain components of the seat back & headrest. These are provided as recommendations.

As the automotive industry advances towards greater autonomy, the landscape of car travel is evolving. The integration of reclined seating within vehicles, made possible without major alterations to traditional layouts, presents a promising avenue for enhancing passenger experiences. This shift, however, comes with unique safety challenges due to the changed seating dynamics.

Research, including insights from General Motors, Volvo & Volkswagen emphasizes the need for innovative safety solutions for reclined seating. Simulations comparing three-point and four point seat belt configurations, in both upright and reclined positions, reveal advantages for the latter at higher speeds. This configuration produces a more balanced force distribution during
impacts, away from vital areas.

While the potential of a four-point restraint system is evident, implementation hurdles arise. Addressing both safety and comfort, a study assesses the user experience for both systems. Building on these insights, a convertible restraint system is proposed, seamlessly transitioning from a three-point to a four-point
configuration based on passenger position. This adaptable design merges safety and comfort effectively.

The proposed design requires redesign of certain components of the seat back & headrest. These are provided as recommendations

This thesis explores combining Extended Reality (XR) with traditional co-creation methods to construct a unique and integrative design facilitation method named XR+. The XR+ method is intended to be used at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) to aid in the process of innovative cabin design. However, the method is not limited to cabin design and can be applied to various design cases.

This method came to be by uniting a multitude of factors, namely: The Flying-V aircraft, galley design, traditional co-creation methods and the immersive potential of XR technology. The choice to work with the Flying-V aircraft as a case study was intentional. The absence of a predefined galley design presented a unique opportunity to develop and test the XR+ method. 

Design, in this study, leans heavily on the collective problem-solving capabilities brought to the table by participants when engaging in co-creation. This is key for addressing issues too complex for individuals alone. It resonates with the insights of Sanders & Stappers (2006), who highlighted a shift in the design process towards collective, future-oriented design practices. Given that XR has gained significant popularity in recent years and found its way into the design world, it seems pertinent to explore how this technology can be combined into a method with these collective, future-oriented design practices. The first step for this was taken by DLR in a paper exploring XR for the cabin design process. 


The journey towards a design method combining co-creation and XR were significantly influenced by collaborating with KLM cabin crew. In total, five co-creation workshops were held, each dedicated to galley design for the Flying-V, and each serving as an iteration to refine and integrate the XR+ approach within co-creation methodologies. 

The workshops highlighted the unique strengths of both traditional co-creation and XR. As part of traditional co-creation, participants found physical elements, like blocks, easy to use and effective for initiating conversation and generating ideas. Once these initial concepts were built using 1:20 scale physical objects, the immersive environment of XR was introduced to further explore these concepts on a 1:1 scale. After immersing in XR, practical aspects of the initial physical design were brought to the forefront. Additionally, XR created a new spark of engagement and new creative possibilities were opened up, especially when participants took turns being in XR, creating a sense of curiosity in the non-immersed participants and wanting to be part of the immersion. Taking turns immersing led each participant to build on to the idea of the previous participant, each participant ‘hitchhiking’ onto each others’ ideas.

It was found that where idea generation stops in the physical world, it continues in the virtual world—highlighting the unique strengths of both traditional co-creation and XR.
The conclusion of this research presents a guide for DLR and other design stakeholders to integrate XR+ into their design processes and to use as an add-on to their current practices. 
Integrating traditional co-creation elements with XR stimulates ideation, deepens understanding of user needs, and leads to the discovery of innovative design solutions.

As remote work becomes increasingly popular, many people are working or studying at their dinner table while seated in a chair that does not adequately support them or is not appropriately sized, leading to various physical complaints. Traditional office chairs are often big and bulky, and their design does not complement home environments. Additionally, adjusting these chairs correctly can be challenging since users often lack knowledge on how to do this and how to maintain a healthy posture.

The objective of this project is to design a parametric chair that is both simple and beautiful, using customer body characteristics to create a mass-customizable 3D printed chair. This chair should fit seamlessly into the user‘s home environment while being personalized to their body. It is essential to obtain a thorough understanding of the home office worker‘s context and the definition of a healthy posture. This ergonomic knowledge is used to convert body measurements into a bucket chair design that provides the user with support in various postures while maintaining a comfortable and healthy posture.

The first step of the project involves analyzing the context of the home office worker. This includes studying the basis of chair design, conducting market research, and studying literature and expert interviews to understand what constitutes a healthy posture and what user characteristics must be considered. The findings from this analysis are then validated through a questionnaire to gain a better understanding of the user‘s context. A chair prototype is also developed to perform various user tests and to develop the backrest shape of the chair using a variety of different back shape measuring methods. Once all the important chair parameters are identified along with their corresponding body measurements, an algorithm is developed to create a personalized bucker chair shape. The resulting chair shape is 3D printed and user-tested.

It is crucial for a chair to allow for posture variation and provide support and comfort in forward, upright, and slouching postures while maintaining a natural spine curve to promote healthy posture. Due to time constraints, the backrest and support have been prioritized in development as they are crucial factors in achieving this goal. By positioning the lumbar support at the top of the pelvis, reducing the height to the underside of the shoulder blades, and limiting the width of the chair to not extend beyond the arms, users have enough freedom of movement of the upper body while rotating the pelvis forward to maintain a natural spine shape. The backrest angle and lumbar support are crucial in achieving balance while sitting, which is also a fundamental factor for healthy posture and sitting comfortably.

The algorithm generates a functional 3D-printed prototype with all elements personalized to the body dimensions of the intended user. Future research and testing should focus on validating the backrest design, improving the body measuring method, developing the seat pan and buttock bowl, addressing the comfort aspect of the chair, and creating a customer journey for ordering the chair.

This graduation project, conducted in collaboration with Lynk & Co, delves into the examination of their current car-sharing service. Lynk & Co, an automotive brand featuring the 01 model, provides a comprehensive sharing platform allowing owners to share their vehicles, even with strangers. However, concerns arise when sharing with strangers regarding the ability to trust the borrower and their driving behaviour. Consequently, owners often reject booking requests from unfamiliar individuals, resulting in a low acceptance rate.

A thorough literature review and a questionnaire revealed five primary motivations for owners’ reluctance to engage in sharing: emotional attachment to the car, car availability, financial risks, trust in the user and system, and user behaviour. Furthermore, a journey map identified critical points in the car-sharing service, stimulating owners to offer their idle cars, providing a means to assess borrowers, and ensuring a sense of control during bookings. These insights collectively highlighted a predominant theme—the lack of control and trust in users.
However, amidst the identified challenges, an opportunity gap emerged: the car’s interior, a shared space between lender and borrower, with the potential to influence users through cognitive ergonomics. The proposed concept, named Stimulus, capitalizes on this opportunity by utilizing Lynk & Co’s distinctive car features and existing sensors to collect driving data. This data creates a profile of the borrower’s driving behaviour, addressing owners’ concerns about control during bookings.

The designed concept employs existing sensors to enhance the car-sharing experience by providing borrowers with real-time feedback on their driving style. This feedback is delivered through haptics in the steering wheel and visualizations on the car’s infotainment screens. Prototyping, both physical and digital, demonstrated the efficacy of this feedback system. Testing with 41 participants affirmed that haptic feedback effectively notifies users, and visualizations encourage careful driving. Moreover, borrowers expressed willingness to share this driving data, recognizing its benefits.
The culmination of driving behaviour data is made into a trip score. In addition to in-car modifications, the mobile app is redesigned to emphasize borrower trust. Parts that are added are a different review system, detailed user profiles and a market for placing requests. 

Stimulus addresses the challenges in Lynk & Co’s car-sharing service by leveraging cognitive ergonomics in the shared interior space, utilizing existing sensors for driving behaviour analysis and enhancing user trust through real-time feedback. The findings from the project present a holistic solution that contributes to more trust in and over borrowers, leading to a more beneficial car-sharing experience for the lender.

Temporary tram and bus stops can be seen as an overlooked structure in the city. While permanent stops are getting are improving greatly, temporary tram and bus stops are being left behind. Gemeente Amsterdam has the goal to make every stop in the municipality accessible to all users, including people with disabilities. This report explores a potential new temporary tram/bus stop.

Comfort, which is defined as “a pleasant state or relaxed feeling of a human being in reaction to its environment”, plays an important role in air travel both for passengers and airlines. However, the combination of strict safety regulations, limited space, and a large variation in passenger body types make aircraft cabins challenging environments to create comfort. The studies presented in this PhD thesis focus on different aspects of comfort experience in air travel and are aimed to be helpful for aircraft interior designers, as well as airlines to have creative design solutions for inflight comfort issues in the future...

During the redesign of the interior of the Flying-V, especially the Chaise Longue, it is investigated how Virtual Reality (VR) can be used within the design process as an evaluation tool. Can test subjects use VR to provide feedback on conceptual designs? And what are the pros and cons? While these questions are being explored, the results of the testing in VR will be used to redesign the Chaise Longue and combine it with results from other graduate students to create a total configuration of the Flying-V.

During the project, two tests have been done. The first test was to explore VR, and to learn about how to create a proper test for product evaluation in VR. This test has been done partly in Ras al-Khaimah (UAE) and in Delft (NL) with employees from KLM. The second test was to test a preliminary redesign of the Chaise Longue. The results of this test were used to create the redesign of the Chaise Longue.

Summary

This project is carried out in collaboration with bicycle accessories manufacturer Widek BV. Widek came with the plan to create a new design for bicycle handlebar grips with an increased ergonomic value compared to the currently available alternatives. The origination of this plan lies with the release of a paper containing new ergonomic knowledge on the pressure discomfort of the hand (di Brigida et al., 2021) and the realisation that the current situation around bicycle handlebar grips offers opportunities for improvement.
This report describes the process of shaping the assignment, gathering information, creating a concept and concluding the completed project.

Introduction
Because this is not the usual way Widek approaches the development of a new product, they have left the initial assignment quite broad: ‘develop a new bicycle handlebar design with a focus on the ergonomics of the user’. To further define this assignment, explorative research is done to the client, their portfolio, production methods, clients, users and vision, and the context of bicycle handlebar grips in the current market. This allowed defining a scope for the project.

Research
The research within this project consists of four different studies: (1) A literature study to the ergonomics of the human hand and wrist, (2) market research on the current and predicted context, (3) field work to gain insights into this context and (4) a survey among (potential) users to collect reasoning behind the found insights.

Design
In the design phase, a problem list is created containing all collected problems regarding the ergonomics of bicycle handlebar grips in the current context. This problem list is arranged based on importance and feasibility within this project and translated into a list of requirements and wishes that the concept must meet. Based on this, a focus area is defined within the original scope of the project: (1) pressure peaks on the hand and (2) incorrect wrist positions. Developing different solution directions resulted in three concepts of which physical prototypes are made. Using these prototypes, the concepts are assessed during user testing. This assessment, together with the research outcomes from this project, has led to the proposal of one of these concepts.

Concluding
This project is concluded with a preview of possible further development of the proposed concept by listing recommendations regarding the collected problems outside the scope focus area and additional research directions, found during concept creation.

Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI), also known as Work-Related Upper Limb Disorders (WRULD), surged in the early years of this millennium due to computer work. In this thesis, the magnitude, causes and consequences of this phenomenon for the student population of the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering (IDE) at the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) are investigated and described. Longitudinal surveys on RSI amongst IDE students over a 15-year period (2000-2014) show the trend in prevalence and severity of the complaints. From the year 2000 to the present, a multidisciplinary RSI prevention group is active to create awareness, provide information and practical sessions. The organised prevention activities and their scientific basis are introduced and discussed. Furthermore, ideas for products and product-service systems, aimed at preventing or reducing RSI and based on medical insights and understanding of RSI risk factors, are presented. These ideas, developed in IDE master graduation projects and one from industry, are evaluated in user tests and physiological experiments with potential users.

The knowledge and insights gained in this thesis are not only valuable for design students to realise healthy computer working, but also for other educational and professional computer workers.

Travelling by air has seen a boom in the past decades due to social, demographic and economic factors (Adepalli, 2018). An increasing trend is observed among young parents travelling with their babies facilitated by low travel costs (Yeoman, 2012). However, babies below 2 years are not considered as regular passengers and airlines make babies fly on their parents/guardians lap with no or meagre fees (EASA, 2019). Most airlines provide baby bassinet to help parents manage their journey. The current Belgraver bassinet provides a temporary place at an economy class bulkhead wall for babies below 6 months to sleep and relax during the flight journey (KLM, 2021). However, this design is aged and needs to be updated to meet the user needs and desires. In addition, since this product is integrated into the aircraft, it needs to meet aviation safety regulations like 16G test, burn test and strength test (Belgraver, 2021).
An abundance of research is carried out to understand adult passengers' physical, psychological, and social comfort, reflecting the evolution of passenger seats and amenities (Anjani, 2021). However, this is sparse in the case of infants (0-2 years) and their parents who experience internal and external stress throughout the journey (Harris, 2014). The main opportunity of this master thesis is to redesign the baby bassinet to meet the identified needs of parents, babies and flight attendants in the economy class cabin environment, which is implemented in the market in 3 years. In this project, the current bassinet interaction insights of babies and parents were obtained by interviewing 2 parents and conducting an online focus group with 14 parents. Further, 4 flight attendants and a flight manager from KLM were interviewed to understand their needs and requirements. The key challenges were developed by grouping the drawbacks of the Belgraver bassinet. They are comfortable, ease of handling and hygiene. The solution Kinder fly is a versatile product with two orientations, to accommodate all the babies under 2 years. Each sub-system, frame, basket and mattress, is developed through iterative cycles: synthesis – simulation – evaluation – decision (Roozenburg et al., 1995). The concept development results were evaluated with 3 parents in aircraft environment, in which the Inclusivity of bigger babies was highly appreciated. The challenges of comfort and ease of handling were given priority, and significant improvement in these areas are obtained. However, hygiene issues need to be tackled in the future. In conclusion, the concept, Kinder Fly entertains the baby and parent to have a stress free, relaxed and comfortable flight experience.


Short-haul flights are currently one of the most carbon-intensive modes of travel. Weight and fuel economy are closely linked. Therefore, weight reduction in the aviation industry is one of the critical factors in making commercial aviation more sustainable.
 This project focuses on aircraft efficiency by developing a lightweight aircraft seat for the economy segment during short-haul flights. 

The result of this project is a concept proposal for a 3-seater bench with a per-seat weight of approximately 6.5 kg. 
The low weight is achieved, on one side, by addressing the structure of the seat, where the core element of the concept is a single-piece compression-moulded shell made of CFRTP that consolidates conventional multi-component assemblies. On the other hand, comfort is provided by replacing traditional and heavy PU foams with a lightweight fabric suspension system.

The number of people working night shifts has been steadily increasing over the past 20 years. Although shift workers have known this for a long time already from first-hand experience, the Dutch national institute for public health and the environment has recently published advice to minimize night (shift) work, as it is detrimental to the physical- and mental health of shift workers. Furthermore, night shifts increase the risk of workplace accidents and put a lot of stress on the social lives of shift workers. Over the years, multiple strategies to combat the negative effects of working night shifts have been developed and used. One method that has recently been gaining popularity in healthcare and industry is power napping. When utilizing power naps to combat the negative effects of night shift work, shift workers take a brief nap during their shift. Power napping during night shifts has been proven to be an effective method for reducing many of the common problems caused by working night shifts. In this graduation project, a new power napping solution, called Asper, has been developed for the company NEWAS B.V.. Asper is the result of an extensive design process with multiple iterations. The process started with an analysis phase, followed by ideation and concept development. During the last phase, product development, the Asper was optimized for manufacturing and assembly. The main goal of the design process was to develop a lay-down power nap solution that enabled night shift workers to take an optimal power nap. Through the integration of multiple design aspects, such as ergonomics, aesthetics, usability and manufacturability, this goal was achieved. The final result is a well-developed design that is ready for its 0th production series.

The angle of attack (AOA) of an airplane changes the direction of the gravitational force on passengers and this 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 perceived comfort/discomfort of passengers and the AOA of the plane during the take-off and climbing phases of a flight. An experiment is conducted in a Boeing 737 fuselage where 26 participants were recruited. Each participant experiences 3 setups of seats with different AOAs (3, 14 and 18 degrees) for 20 minutes, respectively. Participants were asked to complete questionnaires during each session, and their heart rate and the pressure on the seat and the backrest were recorded as well. Experiment results indicated that participants experienced 14 degrees as the most comfortable angle with the lowest discomfort, which might be useful for airlines in setting up the take-off and climbing procedure. It would be good to check the findings in real flights.

This graduation project investigates the opportunities for the design of a new floorplan concept for the Flying-V aircraft. The aircraft’s unique V-shaped layout brings about limitations for how seating and other interior elements such as lavatories and galleys can be placed in the floorplan. Meaning that a different approach needs to be taken regarding the placement of these elements. Regulations for example dictate that aircraft seating cannot be placed at an angle greater than 18° from the direction of flight (DOF), without the need for additional safety precautions such as airbags. Because the passenger cabin of the aircraft is angled at approximately 26°, seats cannot be placed in rows perpendicular to the cabin wall such as in conventional aircrafts. Additionally, with the design of a new floorplan, opportunities arise for the design of a differentiating passenger experience through improvements in passenger comfort. As described in this report, literature research and an online questionnaire resulted in the definition of five main passenger comfort aspects that are of interest to tackle with the design of a new floorplan: legroom, personal space, boredom, sleeping, and walking or being physically active. Research has shown that these five aspects are considered highly important for passenger comfort, but that they score low with regard to this. Indicating that, if these aspects are improved, overall passenger experience can be improved as well. Using these outcomes, along with research into the Flying-V’s cabin design and geometry, aircraft interior trends and developments, and approaches to aircraft floorplan design, four different design directions were developed. The floorplan concept that is further elaborated on in this report focusses on three of these passenger discomforts: legroom, personal space and the possibility for passengers to walk around the aircraft. Further development of this floorplan aimed to find an appropriate balance between improvements in these aspects and required passenger capacity. The resulting floorplan proposal contains three different seating configurations, with each seating section dedicated to different types of travel groups: individual travellers, couple travellers, and group travellers. Firstly, staggered seats facing the DOF are placed at the front of the aircraft and along the outer cabin wall. These seats are dedicated to individual travellers, as they have proven to increase a passengers’ sense of individual personal space and legroom. Secondly, seats dedicated to couple and group travellers are minimally staggered (similar to conventional seating), as this still allows the passenger to easily communicate with their travel partners, one of the drawbacks of seats that are staggered at larger distances. Keeping passenger capacity in mind, the extent to which seats are staggered affects the width of a seating row. So by using a combination of differently staggered seating configurations the width of the aircraft’s cabin can be used most optimally. In this floorplan, making the difference between a 9 or 10-abreast configuration. Additionally, a walking route around the front of the aircraft is created, allowing passengers to be more physically active on long-haul flights, while highlighting of one of the aircrafts unique design features.

This report concerned the development of a soft robotic module for a seat pan, its optimization and application. The soft robotic module has an LED and photosensors for determining the distance of indentation and the passive force created by compressing the foam spring inside. An air pressure sensor is used to determine the active force created when an air pump inflates the bellow with air. The system is trained by machine learning to calculate predictions of these distance and forces in real-time. In several iterations of the module the reproducibility and accuracy were developed in such a way that it could be built into a seat. Two modules are built into a seat pan and interestingly participants on the seat were able to experience significant comfort differences, showing that the principle works. Further development is needed to make a seat pan with more modules, combined with a central computing system that monitors, records and regulates the modules. Exploration of simplification by using a linear regression instead of a neural network to calculate the active force is recommended, as well exploration of improved functionality by dividing the neural network that calculates the distance of indentation.

The coronavirus, which emerged worldwide in 2020, has raised concerns about viral safety in air travel. Less passengers fly due to the imposed restrictions and the fear of catching the virus while traveling. These concerns might have a long-term impact on travel patterns, with nearly a third of travelers planning to fly less after the pandemic. The aviation industry, an important part of the global economy which provides 65.5 million jobs worldwide, has been hard hit since the virus outbreak. Experts agree that addressing new passenger concerns will be critical as their willingness to fly will drive the recovery. Developed in collaboration with the aircraft manufacturer Embraer, this project explored ways to increase the perception of viral safety in current aircraft, and translated these findings into a product proposal, which provides a feeling of safety and privacy during a flight. To understand the factors influencing the perception of viral safety, interviews were conducted with recent flyers and flight attendants. The collected data showed that contracting the virus is a big worry, especially while eating. Not only does it reduce the feeling of safety, it also exposes passengers to the risk of infection as a result of removing the masks. In order to facilitate ideation, a brainstorming session with aviation experts was conducted. Prototypes were developed and tested with travelers using virtual reality technology to define solutions that evoke a sense of safety. The combination of insights allowed for the development of "COVR" – an aircraft interior element that separates passengers, providing a feeling of viral safety and, as a result, increasing the willingness to fly.