Development of a Soft Robotics Module for Active Control of Sitting Comfort
Tjark Roozendaal (Student TU Delft)
M. Verwaal (TU Delft - Technical Support)
A. Buso (TU Delft - Materializing Futures)
Rob Scharff (Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, TU Delft - Materials and Manufacturing)
Y. Song (TU Delft - Mechatronic Design)
P. Vink (TU Delft - Materials and Manufacturing)
More Info
expand_more
Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.
Abstract
Sitting comfort is an important factor for passengers in selecting cars, airlines, etc. This paper proposes a soft robotic module that can be integrated into the seat cushion to provide better comfort experiences to passengers. Building on rapid manufacturing technologies and a data-driven approach, the module can be controlled to sense the applied force and the displacement of the top surface and actuate according to four designed modes. A total of 2 modules were prototyped and integrated into a seat cushion, and 16 subjects were invited to test the module’s effectiveness. Experiments proved the principle by showing significant differences regarding (dis)comfort. It was concluded that the proposed soft robotics module could provide passengers with better comfort experiences by adjusting the pressure distribution of the seat as well as introducing a variation of postures relevant for prolonged sitting.
help_outline