As automotive interfaces transition from mechanical controls to software-defined, material embedded touch surfaces, fundamental questions arise about how tactile feedback, material behavior, and digital information can be combined into coherent user experiences. This dissertation investigates how haptic fidelity, material mediation, and perceptual appropriateness shape interaction in emerging automotive user interfaces. Across four complementary research strands, the work examines how users interpret haptic signals, how materials can bridge analog and digital modes, how haptics perform under realistic driving conditions, and how designers can judge the experiential coherence of multimodal feedback.

The first part introduces the Haptic Fidelity Framework, a perception-oriented categorization that clarifies how different actuator technologies afford distinct levels of expressivity and perceptual bandwidth. A complementary study on haptic perception shows that users primarily describe tactile sensations through evocative, experiential language rather than technical parameters, underscoring the need to align engineering criteria with experiential qualities.

The second part explores how materials can integrate sensing, lighting, and haptic actuation into hybrid “2.5D” interfaces. Through prototyping and qualitative analysis, this work demonstrates that material properties – such as diffusion, and texture – play an active role in shaping interaction semantics and user interpretation.

The third part evaluates high-fidelity piezo haptics in a driving simulator. Results show that haptic feedback improves perceived usability, clarity, and interaction support across representative use cases, even when objective performance measures show limited differences. Participants assessed piezo feedback as more satisfying, expressive, and appropriate, particularly for continuous and search-based interactions during driving.

The final part introduces the Frame–Focus–Glance pipeline, a perception-first design method for shy-tech interfaces (in which technology remains visually restrained and only comes forward when interaction demands it). Through expert exploration, evaluation under calm, non–time critical viewing conditions, and glance-based assessments under short viewing durations representative of driving conditions, the study examines how material diffusion, pixel density, and interface semantics jointly shape perceptual clarity. The results show that knitted textiles perform consistently well across resolutions, whereas woven textiles exhibit strongly resolution dependent behavior. This makes them informative for interface design decisions, but less predictable in perceptual terms for users when applied as an interface substrate.

Taken together, the dissertation provides conceptual, empirical, and design-oriented contributions for integrating haptics and materials in future automotive HMIs. It demonstrates that tactile experience emerges not from actuation alone but from the interplay between technology, material mediation, perceptual thresholds, and context. The resulting framework and methods offer a foundation for designing multimodal, materially coherent, and perceptually appropriate interfaces that balance digital flexibility with embodied interaction. ... Read more

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are a persistent occupational hazard among professional drivers, particularly truck drivers, due to prolonged static postures, whole-body vibrations, and poor seat ergonomics. These issues contribute to discomfort, sick leave, and long-term health deterioration. This study aimed to develop, prototype, and evaluate a personalized seating solution that addresses these risks through the use of 3D scanning and 3D printing technologies.   

Over a 20-week research period, custom seat inserts were created using anthropometric  data and vacuum cushion imprints, which were digitally modeled and 3D-printed using  flexible TPE filament. The inserts were both fitted in and tested in a simulated truck cabin  with 17 participants, using a combination of pressure mapping and short-term comfort  questionnaires.   Quantitative results showed a 39.2% reduction in average pressure, 18.1% reduction in peak  pressure, and a 15.1% increase in contact area when using the inserts. Subjective comfort  ratings significantly improved in regions under the thighs, buttocks, knees, and neck (p <  0.05). Observational data revealed enhanced postural stability and anthropometric fit, though  backrest comfort varied due to human error in production tolerances.   These findings demonstrate the feasibility and ergonomic benefits of integrating additive  manufacturing into personalized seating interventions for occupational drivers. While short-term results are promising, future research should evaluate long-term effects under real-world driving conditions, including the impact on whole-body vibrations and MSD progression. The study contributes to the growing field of parametric ergonomic design and supports the application of human-centered additive manufacturing in the transportation and seating industries.    ... Read more

This report shows the design process of developing a more comfortable transtibial prosthetic socket by introducing focal vibration therapy as a method for residual limb recovery. Rather than focusing only on the main factors of socket discomfort (pressure and volume change), the project explores comfort through a rehabilitation perspective. A concept was developed based on user research, market analysis, and anatomical insights. Voice coil actuators were selected as the most suitable option for focal vibration, and a simplified prototype was built to demonstrate the motor placement. With a strong emphasis on user needs, the project aims to enhance daily comfort in lower-limb prosthetic sockets. ... Read more

This report examines the long-term comfort of seating supports in Level 3 and Level 4 automated vehicles, addressing the challenges and opportunities of autonomous mobility. It evaluates how the transition from active driving to passive passenger roles necessitates a redefinition of comfort standards. The study assesses comfort and discomfort across four seating configurations at Levels 3 and 4 automations, combining subjective feedback with objective measures such as IMU sensors, skeleton tracking, thermal imaging, and physiological data. Subjective measurements capture participant feedback on comfort and discomfort during extended use of different seating configurations. Questionnaires and interviews examine factors such as fatigue, local postural discomfort, and thermal comfort. Objective findings identify key factors influencing comfort and discomfort, including passenger movement, seat pan angles, headrest adjustability, and backrest shape. Combining subjective and objective measurements, the report provides actionable recommendations to address the identified issues, emphasising design improvements aimed at enhancing user experience in automated vehicle environments. ... Read more

Mobility plays a vital role in connecting people and businesses. As sustainability and technological advancements reshape the mobility landscape, there is a growing demand for future-proof solutions. This dissertation explores passenger comfort as a key factor in the adoption of emerging mobility modes, including turboprop aircraft, sleeper trains, and automated vehicles (AVs). Although these modes offer environmental and operational benefits, their success hinges on passenger acceptance, with comfort being a central determinant.....

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This study investigates the ergonomic needs and comfort levels associated with Non-Driving Related Activities (NDRAs) in Level 3 and Level 4 automated vehicles, focusing on the impact of seating posture, seat adjustment, and pressure distribution. Through a combination of seat adjustment data, skeleton tracking, and pressure analysis, the research identifies the most comfortable postures and evaluates the performance of two different car seats. The findings reveal significant differences in pressure distribution and subjective comfort, particularly in the upper back and neck regions. Users exhibited a preference for more reclined and relaxed postures in Level 4 settings, highlighting the need for enhanced seat adjustability to accommodate individual body dimensions and postural preferences. The study emphasizes the importance of personalized seat features and adjustments to optimize user comfort in autonomous vehicles, providing valuable insights for future seat design in this rapidly evolving automotive landscape. ... Read more

This project addresses the growing environmental concern surrounding wind turbine blade waste by proposing an innovative solution for structural reuse. The primary focus is developing an adaptable assembly and connection system that effectively integrates retrieved segments into new structures. The approach involves segmentation and circular design principles, aiming to preserve the value and functionality of decommissioned wind turbine blades. This report provides a comprehensive overview of the problem context, research findings, and the ongoing development and design of the assembly and connection system. The report concludes with a design proposition for a scalable geodesic dome ... Read more

This project explores the integration of a microfluidic system within the MedRing device, aimed at enhancing women’s health monitoring by non-invasively tracking fertility-related biomarkers. The primary goal is to leverage MedRing’s capabilities to provide real-time, accurate health insights, thereby contributing to the advancement of personalised healthcare technologies.

The advent of wearable technologies has opened new avenues for personal health monitoring. This project focuses on the MedRing, a device designed for continuous health data collection, specifically targeting women’s reproductive health. By incorporating a microfluidic system, the project aims to extend the device’s functionality to include precise fertility monitoring, addressing the growing demand for non-invasive health management solutions.

The development process involved performing desktop research, interviews with experts, and analysing the current market. Then it moves on to designing and simulating the microfluidic system using computational fluid dynamics. Simulations were conducted to evaluate fluid flow, ensuring the system’s compatibility with the compact form factor of the MedRing.

A microfluidic system that can be assembled into the MedRing was designed. CFD simulations confirmed that the system achieves the objectives set in terms of laminar flow and fluid path, crucial for the system's correct operation. Design adjustments were made to optimise fluid path efficiency and ensure comprehensive sampling within the system’s reading chamber. The simulations demonstrated the system’s potential to accurately monitor, store, transport, and gather molecular samples within the constraints of the MedRing’s design.

While the project successfully demonstrated the theoretical feasibility of integrating a microfluidic system into the MedRing, the transition from simulation to real-world application necessitates further development. Future work should focus on prototyping and extensive testing to validate the system’s functionality in practical settings. Collaboration with biomedical experts will be essential to refine the system’s design, ensuring it meets both technical specifications and user needs. This project lays the groundwork for future innovations in wearable health technologies, emphasising the importance of integrating advanced diagnostic capabilities into everyday devices. ... Read more

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. ... Read more

This report details the design of a decentralized water treatment system for use in Nepal, which currently lacks improved sanitation for 10.8 million people and a water contamination rate of 71 percent. This contributes to the approximately 140,000 deaths per year from diarrheal illnesses caused by such bacterial contamination. To combat this, the Phutung Research Institute (PRI) in Nepal has developed a low-cost optical sensor that can detect pathogenic bacteria in water. This sensor is a vast improvement over existing tools used to assess water quality, such as consumable test kits or laboratory analysis. However, detecting contaminated water is only one of two steps necessary to provide safe water to those who need it - the water must be cleaned. Such is the purpose of this project: to integrate this sensor in a design that both detects contaminated water and purifies it for people in Nepal. In addition to providing a practical application for PRI’s technology, this project applies other areas of design to create a holistic product intended to operate through its complete life-cycle within Nepal. User ethnography was researched to identify a ubiquitous water tank system as the implementation point, allowing for a single design to be applicable throughout Nepal’s diverse population. This also yielded additional pain points that are addressed to increase the acceptability of this product design in Nepal. Manufacturing and maintenance research yielded a modular architecture that can be constructed in Nepal as much as possible, thereby shortening supply lines and reducing costs while stimulating the local economy. Such a system also allows for the maintenance of sensitive components in the field without specialist intervention. These elements were combined to create a TRL 6 prototype designed to detect bacteria within a home’s water supply and automatically eliminate it with chlorine treatment. It is intended to both demonstrate PRI’s technology and to facilitate field testing in Nepal. This was done while improvising a design method called ‘Who, Why, How into What’. A new method was necessary to organize a project in which multiple diverged areas of design development had to occur simultaneously over a short period of time, barring the use of more traditional and better-defined design methods. ... Read more

The evolution of the automated driving industry liberates users from driving tasks, thus creating more time for Non-Driving-Related activities (NDRAs), thereby transforming the car from a mere mode of transport to a mobile activity platform. This shift presents two main challenges: predicting the type of activities passengers will engage in within the automated cars and adapting the car’s interior design to accommodate these activities. This project tackles these challenges with a focus on comfort, ergonomics, and user activity, promising valuable insights for the interior design of future automated vehicles.

A rigorous review of literature spanning 2014 to 2023 was conducted, with a focus on NDRAs in automated vehicles. The review retrieved 2315 papers from various databases, from which 47 articles encapsulating 66 cases and 50 types of activities were selected based on strict eligibility criteria. These activities were then categorized into 13 clusters, with the top five being Entertainment and online activities, Work and productivity, Interpersonal communication and interaction, Sleep and relaxation, and Observation and monitoring.

An exploratory experiment was conducted within a simulated automated vehicle environment to study the ergonomic and spatial needs of five significant NDRAs. These activities were the most representative of each of the five main clusters: talking to passengers, looking out the window, working on a computer, sleeping, and using an iPad for entertainment. This investigation filled a crucial research gap, providing valuable insights for designing more ergonomic and comfortable interiors for future automated vehicles.

The project further leveraged 3D modeling and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies to analysis the spatial requirements of users engaging in the identified NDRAs within a Range Rover Evoque. The research indicates that the current interior design of the Range Rover Evoque can accommodate average-sized (P50) users performing 5 major Non-Driving-Related activities at small or medium comfort joint angles, yet struggles to support larger comfortable joint angles, particularly for activities such as sleeping, entertainment, or work. The results suggest a future design could include slimmer seats and dashboards and potentially transition from a four-seater layout to a two or three-seater layout to provide more space for users for activities.

After evaluation of initial concepts for future automated vehicle interior design, I have combined their strengths and minimized their shortcomings to develop a final iteration. This design focuses on flexible space allocation by incorporating a slim dashboard and thinner seats and can shift between a standard four-seat configuration to a 2 or 3-seater layout, and include independent seats, and an adjustable table to cater to various user needs, setting the stage for the future of comfortable Non-Driving-Related activities within vehicles.

In conclusion, this project integrates theoretical and practical approaches, focusing on user activities and comfort in automated vehicles. The study leaves out considerations of commercial viability, manufacturing, and socio-cultural aspects. Future improvements should include these factors and align design with commercial and manufacturing realities. ... Read more

The thumb finger is indispensable for an independent daily life. Implant replacement, which aims to restore joint mobility and functionality, is one of the surgical treatments for patients with osteoarthritis at the thumb-base. However, current designs and the biomechanical understanding of the thumb-base joint are inadequate. Small bone size, deep location, and high degree-of-freedom challenge the investigation on this exquisite joint. Taking advantage of 4D CT scanning, this dissertation examined bone shape, joint contact, and the active motion boundary of the thumb-base joint among participants without signs of joint degeneration. In detail, the analysis compared the joint movement between females and males for the etiology of thumb-base osteoarthritis. The deeper insights gained into the structure and mechanics of the asymptomatic thumb-base joints provide the baseline understanding of the thumb-base joints, which can help researchers and healthcare professionals improve and develop more effective treatments for patients with thumb-base osteoarthritis. Furthermore, the exploration of connecting information between the skeletal and skin systems opens up possibilities for future research perspectives. ... Read more

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... ... Read more

This thesis describes the design and development of an accurate and low cost 4D foot scanner in the context of podiatry. The intention is to make a first step towards the development of an affordable 4D foot scanner with commercial grade performance at a low cost, using commodity hardware. By doing so, 4D scanning can hopefully become more accessible to the general public, and accelerate the development and adoption of ultra personalized footwear and digital manufacturing in healthcare. Podiatrists focus on the treatment of physical conditions in the lower regions of the human body, which are often related to foot conditions. Personalized footwear solutions (e.g. orthotics) are widely used to relieve a patient of such conditions, which are primarily designed based on static 3D scanning data of the foot. With additional input of motion analyses and professional experience, a podiatrist can adjust the design of an orthotic to fit the patient. However, the change in foot measurements during different phases of the gait cycle are not accounted for in the design of these personalized solutions, which could vary up to 8 mm. With 4D foot scanning (dynamic 3D scanning), podiatrists will be able to observe and acquire data of the dynamic morphology of a foot during the gait cycle. This should allow the design and development of truly personalized orthotics that are able to support a patient during the entire gait cycle. To support this vision, a proof of concept of a 4D foot scanner has been developed. The presented proof of concept iterates over a previously built 4D foot scanner (Vidmar, 2020). The proof of concept includes: an optimized embodiment for improved scanning quality and scanning consistency, a trigger system to improve the human-computer interaction of the scanner, and a scalable camera configuration for up to 9 cameras. The hardware performance of the scanner in combination with the newly designed data acquisition pipeline has been evaluated in terms of acquisition consistency, speed, and memory usage. The outcome is that the scanner is able to manage dynamic data acquisition with a camera configuration of 9. Also, for a camera configuration of 7, the scanner shows a linear trend in memory consumption, acquired frames, and acquisition speeds, which suggests that performance of the scanner is predictable and constant for this configuration. More elaborate analyses should give better insights into the long time performance of the scanner for different camera configurations. The evaluation of the quality of both static and dynamic scanning data has been done with the implementation of nonrigid ICP. The accuracy of the scanner showed a minimal accuracy error of 2.274 mm. Compared with international 3D scanning standards (minimum accuracy error of 2 mm), the performance of the scanner is considered as a desirable outcome for this graduation project. ... Read more

The 3D Head-scanner is designed with the intent to scan a customer’s head such that the client can design personalized glasses using the generated mesh. The uniqueness of this process is due to the fact that the customers are uniquely disabled and therefore unable to clearly announce their comfort levels. The goal of this project is to design a new Head-scanner for Maat! since the process that they currently use involves interacting a lot of times with customers who move around a lot making scans invalid and operators having to put in extra effort. The client therefore wants a new and improved approach to scanning, one that is faster, accurate, portable and comfortable for their customers. The initial brief was to replace their existing workflow through this new design, however, after some research and discussion, the approach was changed to suit Maat’s future strategy of setting up stationary scanners all around the Netherlands in locations such as Down polis or Community centers where people could come for checkups and have themselves scanned as well resulting in a significant cut-down on the clients’ travelling time. The project starts with some contextual study where the clients are interviewed on their process, their observations and their expectations from the product. Further, clients are shadowed on a number of their customer visits for observation and gaining a first-hand understanding of a typical scanning process, customer behavior and interaction, involvement of parents, environment and noting down certain areas of interest that could motivate insights. The observations lead to a deeper understanding of a child-customer’s behaviour including points of distraction,
various approach strategies employed by operators and how these aspects
could be leveraged outside of a product’s workflow. Certain important points to note are that children have to be distracted at a common point for some amount of time since the scanning process takes some time. This could either be a parent
standing in front of them or their favourite show on a phone. Due to the motion of the scanner, kids often get distracted towards the operator leading to parents often having to hold their head straight. Technological research is the next step
and this involves looking at market competitors, their price ranges, techniques
employed and feasibility with regards to the current context. Similarly, a number of scanning techniques are also considered before photogrammetry is eventually
selected due to its speed, accuracy, ease of availability and pricing. Further tests are also carried out that involve comparing photogrammetry with structured light, scanning dummy heads for accuracy and working with the coding aspect and relevant software. These steps directly inform certain design decisions which serve as constraints based on which concept ideas for the embodiment and possible look and feel are ideated upon. Factors such as area of capture, landmarks and available space influence the design of the product as it
undergoes a number of iterations before settling on the current version. The current Head-scanner makes use of 3 cameras to capture the subject’s face
along with the requisite landmarks in less than a second, with only the click of
a button. As it is connected to a laptop, all the post-processing happens on the
system where the different camera views are aligned creating a complete head. This head is then showed to the operator on a Viewer for them to check.
The final Prototype is repeatedly tested in a series of pilots and constantly
optimized. Feedback is then collected and implemented as best as possible
before finally being validated with 3 families having children of various ages
and a variety of responses. The product performed quite well in terms of capture
speed though the mesh representation left something to be desired. ... Read more

Purpose
As a result of the worldwide aging population, Vertebral Compression Fractures (VCF) are commonly detected in osteoporotic patients; these can originate from traumatic events or occur spontaneously. The existing VCF devices and their corresponding surgical instruments have their limitations in terms of short- and long-term performance, efficiency, safety, and complications. Amber Implants has developed an innovative new Titanium Implantable Vertebral Augmentation Device (TIVAD) that overcomes the shortcomings of the available state-of-the-art VCF devices. However, the specific surgical instruments required for the insertion and deployment of the TIVAD are yet to be developed.

Methods
A knowledge-driven iterative design process that includes extensive theoretical and empirical research together with spine surgeons, concept development, and experimental verification phases has been executed.

Results
The outcomes of the experiments have shown that the final TIVAD inserter and expander met the predefined requirements regarding efficiency, mechanical properties, and usability. These results lead to a significant contribution to the overall TIVAD procedure.

Conclusions
To summarize, it can be stated that the essential surgical instruments, the TIVAD inserter, and expander, enable the surgeon to insert and deploy the TIVAD to relieve the patient from its pain sensation and to restore the adequate spine curve while reducing the number of surgical steps, the overall surgery time, and thus costs. Additionally, the risk of infection and pulmonary embolisms is decreased significantly due to the TIVAD’s non-PMMA minimally invasive surgical procedure.
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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. ... Read more

The research described in this thesis explores the field of 3D printing technologies in the fabrication of printed, flexible tactile sensors and explores new possibilities and opportunities in the fabrication. The research is aiming at new ways of applying 3D printing fabrication techniques to develop easily applicable sensing structures to flexible, wearable applications.

Exploration into sensing principles and sensor designs for the printed fabrication of these tactile sensors results in the main design drivers of piezoresistive sensing and capacitive sensing to act as sensing mechanism for the developed sensors.

Fabrication principles are selected according to design thinking methods, and select and evaluate the trace design, substrate selection and 3D printing technique used in defining a concept proposal.

The performed exploration and design selection result in the concept proposal of a 3D printed tactile sensor using a TPU-coated nylon fabric substrate and ink-dispensed sensing structure using a Voltera V-One 3D printer. The sensing element is embedded into the fabric using heat sealing. A scalable, adaptable sensing array is proposed to allow for embedded tactile imaging capabilities.
The developed tactile sensor is validated by analysing a characterisation of the sensor readouts. A validation setup using a loadcell and vertical load is used to allow for the plotting of the sensors’ characteristics and linearity.

Validation shows evidence of significant measurement repeatability, while showing less proof for precise accuracy and resolution. Additional work needs to improve physical durability of the traces and connections.

The research concludes in a foundation towards the use of the 3D printing technologies of ink jetting/-dispensing to develop embedded sensor to be used in a large variety of tactile sensing/imaging applications.







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Have you ever sat in a cramped airplane? Sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with limited legroom might not be a comfortable experience while flying in an airplane. Therefore, human anthropometrics or body dimensions are important to consider when designing for interiors used by a large population. To accommodate people of all sizes, a certain minimum pitch (distance of rows of seats) and seat-width are needed in an aircraft. However, increasing pitch and width is probably not the best for airline revenues, as an increasing pitch will reduce the number of passengers and thereby the income. Therefore, other solutions are needed as well. This Ph.D. research can be helpful for airlines to find the optimum as background information is gathered about the level of comfort experienced by passengers in different seat sizes. This research aims to understand how to predict comfort by looking at the physical entities, their interaction with the human, the human body effects, and perceived effects. The application area of the model is the aircraft interior. Experiments with a variety of participants, products, and tasks were conducted and measurements of the interaction, human body effects, and perceived effects were recorded. These studies prove that indeed comfort and discomfort are a result of the interaction, human body effects, and perceived effects, and these aspects could be used as a predictor of comfort. And comfort can be predicted, for instance, based on pitch and width related to anthropometry, but also based on heart rate variability (HRV) parameters. This research proves that physical entities can predict comfort, and observing the interaction and recording human body effects like HRV can predict comfort as well. Additionally, there are good questionnaires available for many situations predicting and recording comfort. Designers can use these methods to create a better functional aircraft interior which then increases passenger comfort. ... Read more