Emocard – An Approach to Bring More Emotion in the Comfort Concept 2008-01-0890

In modern society the automobile is an essential companion in everyday life. Be it commuting to and from work or during our leisure time – every week most of us spend many hours sitting in their car. In this context the seat is the main interface between the human being and the automobile itself. Functioning well, this close relationship can foster the well-being of the passenger and raise his spirit; being flawed, it can cause severe pain in the back after a long journey. Thus, for car manufacturers, the aspects of seat comfort are becoming more and more prominent in distinguishing themselves from their competitors. Despite its importance, the development of comfort parameters in automotive seating still is consigned to the subjective judgements of a small number of seating experts or randomly selected test subjects. Easily influenceable by parameters like affection, physical conditions, environmental factors and a lack of standardization, these subjective evaluations have a big intra individual and inter individual range.