The presentation shows the current process of interior auto design followed by all manufacturers. A change with the addition of human body models for seat and interior design is needed. The auto industry has locked into an old expensive process that is unreliable. The addition of math CAD design tools described in this presentation will bring this process into the 21st Century.

1. Math-based Product Design in CAD using
Biomechanics for Comfort in Car Seats
ERL LLC
October 25, 2011

2. Can you imagine a car
designed without wheels for the road?
2 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

3. Then, how are cars designed
without people sitting in the seats?
3 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

4. A feeling of seated comfort for all drivers
begins with
• good vision of the road;
• easy reach to controls;
• sitting in their preferred back posture.
4 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

5. A Typical Result from the Current Process
Real female driver after driving a car says:
“Cushion- a little long, pressing
against my knees;
Head rest- a little hard to
move, orientation bad;
Too close to steering wheel;
Back rest lateral too low and
are pushing my arms”
5 ERL LLC US Patents: #6,840,125, #7,047,831, #7,347,114, #7,797,138 10/25/2011

6. Root causes of these problems come from an
old design process that relies upon:
1.Core focus on package design without seat;
2.Subjective feedback near end of development;
3.One back posture in design process;
4.One design for driving USA interstates.
6 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

7. First
The current design process begins
with Oscar in Design Position; seat
travel, eye position and reach are statistical
models relative to Oscar in Design Position.
7 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

8. Then
Safety establishes design
criteria for head restraint
(FMVSS 202a) and child seat
anchor latch (FMVSS 225)
with Oscar in Design Position.
8 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

9. And Safety
Styling develops
seat appearance
from experience and
Oscar in Design Position.
9 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

10. Safety
And
Styling
Ergonomics evaluates
reach and vision with
math models based on
Oscar in Design Position.
10 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

11. Safety
And Styling
Ergonomics
Seat Engineering
manages seat design
with Oscar in Design Position
11 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

12. Next
Safety
Supplier builds
Styling prototype seat
for Oscar’s Design
Ergonomics
Position and driving
Seat Eng. tests for driver comfort.
12 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

13. Last
Safety
Drivers
Styling
test seat near
Ergonomics end of vehicle
development.
Seat Eng.
13 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

14. Solution to this design process problem:
Add virtual people to decades old
“Oscar” system with objective, optimized
math-based design in CAD at start of vehicle design.
14 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

15. Virtual people at
the beginning of vehicle
development will design
the seats and evaluate effects
of safety, styling, ergonomics and
seat engineering on everyone’s comfort!
15 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

16. Virtual people
define comfort objectively.
US Patents: #6,840,125, #7,047,831, #7,347,114, #7,797,138
16 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

17. Safety, Styling, Ergonomics,
Math model
and Seat Engineering share the
math-based virtual tools for work
on optimal design of the car interior.
17 ERL LLC US Patents: #6,840,125, #7,047,831, #7,347,114, #7,797,138
10/25/2011

18. Virtual drivers’ seat design model
defines seating specifications for suppliers!
18 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

19. Safety, Styling,
Supplier builds
Math model Ergonomics and seat for population and
Seat Engineering
objective comfort tests.
US Patents: #6,840,125, #7,047,831, #7,347,114, #7,797,138
19 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

20. US Patents: #6,840,125, #7,047,831, #7,347,114, #7,797,138
Safety, Styling,
Ergonomics and
Supplier Real drivers
Math model
Seat Engineering
builds seat
confirm comfort!
20 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

21. The current design process
without drivers in the seat
began in the 1960s when 3D math
for CAD, computers, biomechanics,
and ergonomics were in their infancy.
21 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

22. The auto culture has locked into
“Oscar,” use of statistics, and Department
of Transportation Regulations with 1960s process.
“Oscar”
(1965)
US Patent #3,147,617 DOT (1967)
(1964) NHTSA (1970)
22 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

23. Today, best-in-class engineering
processes rely on robust math systems.
23 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

24. Math tools available since 1980s but only ERL
designs & evaluates the seat, package and comfort.
Package Seat Seat Comfort
Design Tools
Design Design Evaluation Score
SAE (1960s-present) YES No No No
JACK (1980s) YES No No (YES)¹
SAFEWORK (1980s) YES No No (YES)¹
RAMSIS (1990s) YES No No (YES)¹
MADYMO (1990s) No No (YES)² No
PAM Comfort (2000s) No No (YES)² (YES)²
ERL (2000s) YES YES YES YES
¹Joint angle comfort only.
²Pressure distribution evaluation only.
24 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

25. Elements of a math-based model
for use at start of vehicle development.
 Virtual human body models
 Biomechanical seat design model
 Optimization Software and CAD display
 Comfort score of interior
25 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

26. Virtual human body models:
Nine Small to Large “drivers” in different back postures
Small Female (>5th %) Medium Male (±50th %) Large Male (>95th %)
Erect
Neutral
Slumped
US Patents: #6,840,125, #7,047,831, #7,347,114, #7,797,138
26 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

27. Globally, body sizes range
from a small woman to a large man.
27 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

28. Drivers use back postures to
get vision, reach and position comfort!
28 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

29. Globally, drivers sit more alert
when driving conditions are challenging!
Erect Posture Culture & Weather
US Patents: #6,840,125, #7,047,831, #7,347,114, #7,797,138
29 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

30. Globally, drivers relax when
the driving conditions are easy!
Slumped Posture Interstate/Autobahn
US Patents: #6,840,125, #7,047,831, #7,347,114, #7,797,138
30 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

31. As a result, seat and package design
must fit a variety of normal back postures.
Lumbar Chest
ERECT
US Patents:
#6,840,125, #7,047,831, #7,347,114,
#7,797,138
J. S. Milne & I. J. Lauder, Annals of
Human Biology, 1974 1(3):327-337.
Slumped
31 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

32. Small drivers sit upright to raise their eye height
for good vision but often sit too close to the airbag!
Erect
Neutral
Slumped
US Patents: #6,840,125, #7,047,831, #7,347,114, #7,797,138
32 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

33. Medium sized drivers sit for comfortable
reach to controls and prefer a neutral back posture!
Erect
Neutral
Slumped
US Patents: #6,840,125, #7,047,831, #7,347,114, #7,797,138
33 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

34. Large drivers often sit slumped to keep their
head from hitting the roof but want more leg room!
Erect
Neutral
Slumped
US Patents: #6,840,125, #7,047,831, #7,347,114, #7,797,138
34 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

35. Oscar is the 10th “driver” and
he is used in Federal Regulations
to represent the “driver” for safety.
Head Restraint
Measurement Device
(HRMD) added for FMVSS 202a
35 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

36. Virtual Drivers are used to design
for ergonomics, comfort, safety & Regulations!
Small Female (>5th %) Medium Male (±50th %) Large Male (>95th %)
Erect
Vision &
SRS Safety
Posture &
Neutral
Controls
Federal Headroom &
Reach Regulations
Seat Travel
Slumped
36 ERL LLC US Patents: #6,840,125, #7,047,831, #7,347,114, #7,797,138 10/25/2011

37. With the change
from large to small energy
efficient cars, space in the vehicle
must be designed for the population!
37 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

38. As cars grow smaller, body size becomes critical.
Small Driver & Large Passenger
Large Driver & Small Passenger
38 ERL LLC US Patents: #6,840,125, #7,047,831, #7,347,114, #7,797,138 10/25/2011

39. Biomechanical model is used
to design sitting surfaces for all
driving postures and passenger positions.
39 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

40. Biomechanical seat design model
Everyone wants same Contact & Support in seat.
C Head
C Shoulder
S Chest
C S S Lumbar
S C
Buttocks
Thigh
Pelvis
40 ERL LLC US Patents: #6,840,125, #7,047,831, #7,347,114, #7,797,138 10/25/2011

41. Everyone, worldwide, has same skeletal
anatomy for biomechanical sitting model.
Chest Vertebrae
Lumbar Vertebrae
Pelvis
Reynolds, H. M., Brodeur, R. R., and Aljundi, S. SAE 2001-01-
0393: DOI 10 4271/2001-01-0393, In: Human Factors in
Automotive Design (SP-1591). SAE, Warrendale, PA, 2001.
41 ERL LLC US Patents: #6,840,125, #7,047,831, #7,347,114, # 7,797,138 10/25/2011

42. All ERL virtual models have seated tissue
shapes to design seat for contact & support.
Seated Tissue Shapes
Brodeur, R. R. and Reynolds, H. M. SAE 2001-01-
2106;DOI 100 4271/2001-01-2106, Digital Human
Modeling Conference, Washington, D.C., 2001
42 US Patents: #6,840,125, #7,047,831, #7,347,114, # 7,797,138 10/25/2011

43. Experience in engineering
committees manages thousands of
dimensions for driver and passenger comfort.
43 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

44. ERL Optimization Software supports Experience
Optimize thousands of dimensions for driver & passenger!
Controls Package Seat Driver & Passengers
Design Position & Track Material Properties (Stiffness) Population (Small to Large)
SeatTravel Windows Seat Centerline, Insert & Wings Joint Angles (Comfort)
IP, Mirror & Headliner Head Restraint, Lumbar & Cushion Length Seat (Biomechanics model)
Accelerator Meat-to-Metal & Manufacturability Controls: Contact with hand or foot
Steering Wheel Frame: Size, Adjusters & Recliners Vision: Downward & Upward Sight Lines
4,744 Dimensions 860 Dimensions 2,518 Dimensions
44 ERL LLC US Patents: #6,840,125, #7,047,831, #7,347,114, # 7,797,138 10/25/2011

45. Real drivers comment in
market surveys but virtual
drivers explain discomfort!
45 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

46. CAD Display
ERL Comfort Viewer and Report
Real Female Driver says:
“Cushion- a little long, pressing against my knees;
Head rest- a little hard to move; orientation bad;
Too close to steering wheel;
Back rest lateral too low and are pushing my arms”
Virtual Female Driver outputs:
Cushion too long;
Head restraint too close;
SW too close;
Seatback wings wide;
Cushion wide;
Pedal too far
46 ERL LLC US Patents: #6,840,125, #7,047,831, #7,347,114, #7,797,138 10/25/2011

47. With virtual drivers
in design at vehicle conception,
manufacturer knows comfort years
before J D Powers releases survey results.
47 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

48. Comfort Scores
ERL and drivers’ comfort scores have high correlation (r=0.8)
Small Full
Mid Mid Compact Entry Prem.
Vehicle Segment Sport Size
Utility Sedan X over Utility Sedan
Sedan Utility
ERLVirtual Score 4.3 4.5 4.2 3.9 4.4 4.5 4.3
Small Female 3.9 3.5 3.4 3.4 3.6 3.7 3.6
Medium Male 4.5 4.6 4.4 4.0 4.6 4.8 4.5
Large Male 3.6 4.4 4.1 3.6 3.9 4.4 4.2
Drivers’ Score² 4.0 4.1 4.1 3.6 3.9 4.5 3.9
J D Power APEAL¹ 4.5 4.3 --- 4.3 4.1 4.5 4.4
¹Survey of drivers who purchased vehicle and returned survey (5 pt scale)
²Drivers’ subjective rating average comfort score after 2 hr. drive (5 pt scale).
48 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

49. Comfort Score Formula
Comfort (Seat + Package) – Joint Angle Penalties
 Seat: Cushion and Seatback
 Length and Height
 Stiffness
 Support
 Wing Support
 Lumbar Support
 Head Restraint
 Packaging
 Line of sight vision
 Track angle
 Seat travel
 Head room
 Joint Angles Penalties
 Head/Neck angles (Head Restraint)
 Hip angle (Seat Centerline Shape)
 Elbow & Knee angles (Controls Reach)
49 ERL LLC US Patents: #6,840,125, #7,047,831, #7,347,114, #7,797,138
10/25/2011

50. Advantages of using virtual people in
seat at start of vehicle development:
1) Reduces time and cost of engineering design
and development;
2) Seat design fits market for global car interior;
3) Improves customer satisfaction with vehicle.
50 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

51. Safety Advantage for seat and driver.
Comfortable Head Restraint
meets FMVSS 202a!
Airbag (SRS) is not too
close to small driver!
Passengers do not sit on
child seat latch anchor
US Patents: #6,840,125, #7,047,831, #7,347,114, #7,797,138
(FMVSS 225)!
51 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

52. Styling Advantage for Design
Mannequin “If Design Center wishes
for Dress to be responsible for
Dress for surface development of
Woman seat systems on future
programs, designers and
sculptors will need a tool
to gather reliable comfort
information and to insure
consistent, transferable
learning's.” (Quote from an
Math provides size & Automotive Industrial Designer)
shape of seat for
Stylist
ERL LLC US Patents: #6,840,125, #7,047,831, #7,347,114, #7,797,138 10/25/2011
52

53. Ergonomics Advantage for Driver
Virtual Score: 3.4/5.0 Virtual Score: 4.0/5.0
Cushion 2.7 Cushion 4.0
Seatback 3.2 Seatback 3.7
Package 3.7 Package 4.3
US Patents: #6,840,125, #7,047,831, #7,347,114, #7,797,138
 Current Production Vehicle  Virtual Design for Driver
53 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

54. Seat Engineering Advantage for OEM
Maximize shared use
of parts in all vehicles
US Patents: #6,840,125, #7,047,831, #7,347,114, #7,797,138
300.00
Chest Patch Stiffness
Objective 250.00
200.00
specifications for seat Force (N)
150.00
Benchmark Stiffness
Lower Bound
contract with suppliers 100.00
50.00
Upper Bound
ERLRUN Stiffness
0.00
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70
Displacement (mm)
54 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

55. Financial Advantages in Expenses & Sales
 Greater global acceptance of interior design.
 Reduce engineering design and development time.
 Increase shared use of parts,
 Reduce seat supplier expense (fewer iterations),
 Faster time to market,
 Corporate memory in personnel and math,
55 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

56. Only ERL includes seat, package and comfort.
Package Seat Seat Comfort
Design Tools
Design Design Evaluation Score
SAE YES No No No
RAMSIS YES No No (YES)¹
SAFEWORK (CATIA) YES No No (YES)¹
JACK (UG) YES No No (YES)¹
PAM Comfort No No (YES)² (YES)²
MADYMO No No (YES)² No
ERL YES YES YES YES
¹Joint angle comfort only.
²Pressure distribution evaluation only.
56 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

57. Virtual drivers in the design at the
start of vehicle development brings success.
ERL LLC US Patents: #6,840,125, #7,047,831, #7,347,114, # 7,797,138
57 10/25/2011

58. “We all sit comfortably in the car!”
ERL LLC US Patents: #6,840,125, #7,047,831, #7,347,114, # 7,797,138
58 10/25/2011

59. ERL Business Model
 Deliverables
 Interior Package Design
 Interior Package Evaluation
 Benchmark Interior Package Evaluation
 Price as negotiated for Deliverables
 Design & evaluation service supplied by ERL LLC
 License Software & Hardware from ERL LLC
 Optimizer (optimization algorithm for interior package design)
 Viewer (integrated with CAD package)
 Stiffness measurement tools for benchmarking
 Training in Optimizer (Design and Evaluation) and Viewer
59 ERL LLC 10/25/2011

60. Thanks for your time and interest!
For additional information:
Go to www.erlllc.com or
Contact ERL LLC at reynolds@erlllc.com
60 ERL LLC 10/25/2011