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Communication with other road users is very essential for autonomous as they might drive slower and the person on the driver's seat does not necessarily look on the street. To evaluate exterior displays, we build a full‐scale mock‐up with a RGB LEDs matrix display with 80 cm × 40 cm (128 × 64 pixel). Even text with a height of 10 cm was judged as readable from 50 m distance. Other results were the identification of signs with 40 cm height from 50 m. This is in accordance with common traffic sign standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article highlights a significant setback for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as Pakistan's top election body rejects nomination papers of party founder Imran Khan and his colleagues for two national assembly seats, citing "flimsy grounds." Topics include the rejection of Imran Khan's nomination papers, the implications for PTI ahead of the upcoming general elections, and the reasons provided by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for the rejection.

During the pre-GE-14, political parties in Terengganu have expressed their confidence to come to power based on current issues, government performance and leadership. In GE-14, the people have chosen to give PAS a chance to lead the Terengganu State Government. After GE-14, there was also a conflict between UMNO and PAS in the state. Therefore, the purpose of writing this article is to analyze the geopolitics of Terengganu in pre-GE-14, GE-14 and post GE-14. The writing of this article is based on analysis of GE 2018 results data, field observations and analysis of secondary sources such as journal articles and conference papers. Findings show that geopolitics or governing power based on pre-GE-14, GE-14 and post-GE-14 scenarios in Terengganu depends on the influence of voter support for political parties, the role and volume of key leaders and current issues in the state. The instability of BN Government leaders and local issues have opened up space for PAS to win the hearts of Terengganu people in GE-14. However, this rejection is seen not because of the strength of PAS but rather the weakness of BN in addressing issues that arise in the community, especially in Terengganu. Meanwhile, PH is also not seen as dominant in any part except in Kemaman and Kuala Terengganu. Post GE-14 shows PAS cooperating with UMNO to form a Muafakat Nasional (MN) on the basis of the Malay-Muslim political cooperation. For the first time in the state, the opposition in the state assembly is governmen-friendly. However, the open conflict between the main leadership of UMNO and PAS over the distribution of development allocations and the distribution of seats in the next general election will be a challenge to both political parties to maintain long-term and consistent political cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To further improve the ride comfort of commercial vehicles, a seat ISD (Inerter–Spring–Damper) suspension utilizing a mechatronic inerter is proposed in this paper. Firstly, a five-DOF (degree-of-freedom) commercial vehicle seat ISD model was built. Then, the positive real network constraint conditions of a biquadratic impedance transfer function were determined, and the meta-heuristic intelligent optimization algorithm was used to solve the parameters. According to the solution, the impedance transfer function was obtained and the specific network structure was realized by network synthesis. Lastly, this study compares the vibration isolation performance of the mechatronic ISD suspension of the vehicle seat with that of a passive suspension. In comparison to passive seat suspension, the seat mechatronic ISD suspension reduces seat vibration transmissibility by 16.33% and vertical acceleration by 16.78%. Results indicate that the new suspension system can be an effective improvement in ride comfort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an improved grey Euclidean relational analysis method based on Euclidean distance was proposed, which was based on the traditional grey relational analysis method. This method was applied to the material-structure integrated design of the backrest skeleton of a car seat. Firstly, the steel backrest skeleton of a car seat was replaced by carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP), and the backrest skeleton was designed as an integrated structure. Its weight was reduced by 1.69 kg (39.12 %) while still meeting various seat performance test requirements. Then, the effect of the ply design on the performance of car seats with CFRP was studied, and the optimal layer scheme of CFRP backrest skeleton of car seats was obtained by combining the grey Euclidean relational analysis method. Finally, the method proposed in this paper was compared with the widely used method. The results showed that the optimization schemes obtained by the two methods greatly improved performance indicators, especially L_R_2 which had an improvement rate of 13.31 %. Additionally, the proposed method reduced computing resources by 95 %, indicating its ability to effectively balance optimization results and calculation efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Musculoskeletal disorders are one of the most common work-related illnesses. At the European level, they affect the health of millions of workers, and, at the same time, the employers themselves pay high costs for their compensation. According to the data from the automotive industry, the costs of introducing ergonomic controls at the initial stage of production design are significantly lower than the costs of compensating musculoskeletal disorders. Along with the implementation of ergonomic controls at an early stage, the risks of developing work-related musculoskeletal disorders are reduced or eliminated. The need for a scientific research approach in the implementation of ergonomic controls is imposed as one of the most significant ways to deal with musculoskeletal disorders and to improve safety, wellbeing, and effectiveness of employees. This paper analyzes the ergonomic risks among employees in the automotive car seats production as well as the control mechanisms that can reduce or eliminate the occurrence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In this paper, improvements in reducing transmitted accelerations in a full vehicle are obtained by optimizing the gain parameters of an active control in a roughness road profile. Design/methodology/approach: For a classically designed linear quadratic regulator (LQR) control, the vibration attenuation performance will depend on weighting matrices Q and R. A methodology is proposed in this work to determine the optimal elements of these matrices by using a genetic algorithm method to get enhanced controller performance. The active control is implemented in an eight degrees of freedom (8-DOF) vehicle suspension model, subjected to a standard ISO road profile. The control performance is compared against a controlled system with few Q and R parameters, an active system without optimized gain matrices, and an optimized passive system. Findings: The control with 12 optimized parameters for Q and R provided the best vibration attenuation, reducing significantly the Root Mean Square (RMS) accelerations at the driver's seat and car body. Research limitations/implications: The research has positive implications in a wide class of active control systems, especially those based on a LQR, which was verified by the multibody dynamic systems tested in the paper. Practical implications: Better active control gains can be devised to improve performance in vibration attenuation. Originality/value: The main contribution proposed in this work is the improvement of the Q and R parameters simultaneously, in a full 8-DOF vehicle model, which minimizes the driver's seat acceleration and, at the same time, guarantees vehicle safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a study of the vibration isolation properties of pneumatic suspension systems for work machinery seats, with a particular focus on adjustable stiffness. It highlights the contribution that semi-active seat suspension systems make to vibration reduction, ultimately leading to improved passenger comfort levels and increased safety for vehicle users. The primary objectives of the research were twofold: firstly, to identify the key parameters of the apneumatic vibration isolation system; and secondly, to evaluate its performance in improving vibration damping. This entailed the development of a mathematical model that would foreground the movement through simulations based on different initial pressures, thus enabling the accurate prediction of real-life scenarios concerning the vibration-damping characteristics of the seating system, taking into account the different design options available for working machine technology applied at the test bed level, of which the pneumatic isolator is an integral component. In the cognitive process, the verification and validation of the formulated theoretical model play an important role. This approach enables the behaviour of the actual system to be inferred from the results of simulation studies, thus allowing the design of an appropriate vibration control system. By simulating different air bellow pressures, the characteristics of the seat suspension system can be assessed. This study provides valuable insights into optimising the vibration-damping capability of the air suspension system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In self-driving vehicles, passengers can set their seats in an unconventional seating position, such as rear-facing. Sitting in such an orientation can increase the risk of whiplash in the head-and-neck system in a frontal impact, as frontal crashes usually have higher severities compared with rear-end crashes. This paper shows that a forward-facing front seat optimised for rear-impact protection needs to be redesigned to be used as a rear-facing seat. In the second and main part of this paper, a restraint system for rear-facing car seats is developed, and frontal impact simulations with 64 km/h of delta-V are used to evaluate its performance. The designed seating system comprises two rigid torso plates, a fixed recliner and an energy absorber under the seat pan. Without using the developed restraint system, the 50th percentile male human model is exposed to neck shear forces exceeding 600 N. With the developed restraint system, neck shear forces are less than 350 N in frontal impacts with 64 km/h of delta-V. Apart from whiplash, the risk of head, chest, lower extremity and lower back injuries are also evaluated. The results confirm that the developed restraint system successfully protects the occupant since all assessment criteria values are lower than the injury assessment reference values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deploying an airbag when a vehicle occupant is too close to it can cause injury. An adaptive Airbag Control Unit (ACU) would improve the effectiveness of the safety system, provided it is aware of the actual position of the occupants once the crash is going to occur. Occupants can be monitored with vision-based and radar-based sensing in the vehicle, but the research question is whether other reliable devices exist. In this research, a real seat is equipped with four sensors in the supports from the floor, as well as an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and a microcontroller. The device is capable of identifying correct position or different Out of Position (OP) conditions and inform an adaptive ACU. The paper presents the seat layout in detail and its testing in extensive driving experiments with multiple participants. Depending on the position of the driver, the identification is correct 45–100% of the time. Monitoring the occupant position by a sensorized seat is feasible and can improve the reliability of the onboard safety system when integrated with other occupant monitoring devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new control scheme that is composed by the sliding mode control(SMC) with three-dimensional ceiling control to reduce the multi-dimensional vibration of the vehicle's seat. The seat suspension system is made of a kind of 3-RPS parallel mechanism, in which each limb is mainly composed by the spherical pair, spring, piston rod, damping fluid and rotary pair. Based on the single-open-chain theory, Position and Orientation Characteristics (POC) set of a 3-RPS seat mechanism was analyzed to verify its movement law. Three-dimensional seat system mathematical model was established, and the SMC and ceiling control were combined to obtain the required force. The ceiling control belongs to an ideal control method, it could provide the reference for the SMC. The comparisons between the SMC and passive seat suspension system were done when the vehicles were walking or working on E, F and G-roads. The results show that the transient amplitudes of seat acceleration outputs were reduced with the proposed control scheme. The research in this work can be extended and applied for other vehicles and improve their performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inappropriate or unsafe speed is one of the main factors that affects the number of road crashes as well as the severity of the consequences. Research shows that speed is an influential factor in the occurrence of road crashes in more than 30% of road crashes with fatal outcomes and in over 12% of all road crashes. With an increase in speed, the risk of road crashes increases as well as the severity of the consequences. The perception of the vehicle speed in the traffic lane is one of the basic prerequisites for the safe functioning of traffic, that is, for the successful and timely interaction of all road users. Therefore, the challenge of this paper is to examine how the assessment of the speed of a passenger vehicle in different environments affects the prediction of the respondent's participation in road crashes. Bearing the above in mind, an experimental study was carried out, in real traffic conditions (RTC) as well as in a virtual environment using a driving simulator (DS), at different passenger vehicle speeds (30, 50 and 70 km/h), and at different perspectives of observing the oncoming vehicle (observing the vehicle from the front, from the back, from the side and from the driver's seat) by the respondents. The respondents had the task of evaluating the passenger vehicle speed, in all tested conditions and at all tested speeds. Standard statistical models and fuzzy logic were used to analyze the obtained results. The results show statistically significant differences for all tested situations and all tested speeds as well as statistically significant differences depending on the gender of the respondents, the driver's license category, the driver's experience, frequency of driving and depending on whether respondents wear glasses. Bearing in mind the results of the developed model, by applying fuzzy logic, it can be concluded that the proposed model can be used to assess the propensity of respondents to participate in road crashes, based on perception of vehicle speeds in two tested environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: By giving specific road excitation, the differential equations and analytical solutions derived in this paper can be used to quickly estimate the vertical displacement and acceleration of the bus passing through this section of the road. The theoretical results and formulae in this paper can provide some guidelines for bus design and bus driving. The comfort of a bus running on different road conditions is a matter of public concern. In this paper, the differential equations of motion are established for a bus running on different road conditions and the whole driving process is mechanically analyzed. Firstly, the bump degree at different positions is quantitatively analyzed and it is found that the rear row is bumpier on different roads. Then, the relationship between the speed of the bus and the vertical displacement and acceleration is quantitatively described. Regardless of the speed, a similar displacement and acceleration will be eventually achieved, but the speed is higher, and the duration of maximum displacement and acceleration is longer. When the speed is 8 m/s, resonance occurs on the bus during road condition II. Finally, the change in vertical displacement and acceleration under the action of different spring stiffness coefficient ratios of the front and rear wheels is quantitatively analyzed. High stiffness ratios mean less displacement and acceleration. By establishing an actual excitation road surface, the differential equations and analytical solutions in this paper can be used to roughly analyze the mechanical response of a traveling bus. These results can provide some guidance for the design and driving of buses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in the size of the city and the increase in population mobility have greatly increased the number of vehicles on the road, and at the same time brought considerable challenges to the traffic management department. In recent years, more and more experts and scholars have devoted themselves to applying sensors, network communication and dynamic adaptive technologies to road traffic management systems. At present, people have not completely overcome all kinds of complex problems in traffic supervision. The complexity of traffic information and the defects of identification algorithms have brought great challenges to intelligent traffic management. This article has launched a research on the intelligent Internet of Things traffic management system, with the detection and recognition of stationary vehicles and seat belts as the key analysis targets. When monitoring stationary vehicles, this paper replaces the background difference algorithm commonly used in dynamic vehicle detection with a new recognition algorithm. From the experimental results, the average detection accuracy of the new algorithm is 96.77% higher than the previous 87.56%. When studying the driver's seat belt detection, this paper combines the YOLOv3 target detection algorithm and the lightweight network structure, and proposes a driver-oriented positioning algorithm. With the increase in the number of lightweight templates, the accuracy of the positioning algorithm has increased from 80.57 to 99.98%. But on the other hand, the detection speed has also changed from 78 to 69 frames/s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an adaptive fuzzy fault-tolerant control (FTC) scheme is proposed for active seat suspension systems. The addressed system contains electromagnetic actuator faults. In addition, the constraints of the displacements of the car seat, active suspension, and wheel, their vertical vibration speeds and current intensity are included. In the control design, since the systems have dynamic characteristics of complexities and spring non-linearities, the fuzzy logic systems are utilized to approximate the unknown nonlinear dynamics. By the aid of Barrier Lyapunov functions and based on the adaptive backstepping recursive design algorithm, a novel adaptive fuzzy FTC scheme is formulated. When the electromagnetic actuator fails, the developed control scheme can guarantee that all the vertical vibration states are stable. Eventually, the effectiveness of the presented control method is offered to illustrate by a random road surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Furniture as a functional object must satisfy both artistic and scientific requirements. In particular, ergonomic factors are very important in furniture design in terms of human health and productivity. To make furniture designs at the ideal intersection of science and art, it is necessary to approach furniture design with a scientific systematic. Accordingly, this paper summarizes and analyzes the current state of biomechanics in ergonomic furniture design, covering an overview of the biomechanics utilized in different types of furniture design, biomechanical analysis, and testing methods. In the conclusion of the study, the literature analysis identifies the key topics and areas of future exploration regarding the use of biomechanics in ergonomic furniture design. The findings of the review indicate that (1) the primary studies on biomechanics used in furniture design concentrate on special furniture, such as wheelchairs and transportation vehicle seats, with minimal investigation performed on common furniture; (2) mechanical analysis, experimental testing, and computer-aided ergonomics represent the main techniques applied in furniture design biomechanics; (3) the reliability of biomechanics used in furniture design needs to be improved due to the lack of fundamental parameters of the muscles and skeleton of the human body; and (4) more attention should be paid to the use of biomechanics in the design of common furniture, such as household and office furniture, which affects people's health and comfort. The scientific and rational application of biomechanics should be integrated into ergonomic furniture design to promote healthy living and enhance work efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With a view to maintaining the competitiveness required by the market, the automotive industry strongly encourages its suppliers to develop new production methods and technologies capable of reducing the costs of produced products, ensuring the necessary quality, and increasing flexibility, with a view to responding more easily to the customization of the products that the market increasingly demands. The main goal of this work was to increase the flexibility and productivity of equipment capable of producing the first subset that constitutes the product commonly known as the Bowden cable. To this end, the design science research methodology was used, which was understood as the most effective in describing scientific work related to the improvement of existing systems. Bowden cables are cables that activate various devices in the car, such as opening doors, moving window glasses, and adjusting some car seats, among others. The work consisted of integrating several operations usually carried out for the manufacture of the referred subset, reducing logistics operations and manual work, increasing operator safety, and increasing the production rate and flexibility of the equipment, by reducing the setup time. For this purpose, new mechanical concepts were developed, and automation was applied, which resulted in a completely new concept, able to fulfill all the objectives initially set. It should be noted here that the new equipment allowed a production rate of 1140 p/h, when the initial objective was 1100 p/h; it requires an investment of only around EUR 55,000 (easy return on investment), occupies only 11.6 m2, and has reinforced safety systems to avoid workers' injuries, an aspect that is very important in this type of equipment, where operators deal with cutting systems and high temperatures. The dissemination of this concept could help other researchers to easily find solutions to certain problems that they face in the development of modern equipment. The main contributions of this paper are the novel concepts created to overcome some process difficulties, which can be used for a wide range of other processing situations with similar difficulties. The solutions proposed allow a decrease in the cycle time, present high flexibility, save workshop space, and are affordable in terms of global cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of TEME: Casopis za Društvene Nauke is the property of TEME: Casopis za Drustvene Nauke and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Work presented in this article concerns an industrial example of a mass optimization problem, performed on automotive suspension components. Due to the fact, that the considered element, i.e. spring seat is a part of the vehicle suspension module, analyses are performed on the shock absorber assembly level with the mutual interaction of each body. To solve constrained optimization task, a combination of genetic and gradient-based algorithms are used, involving nonlinear static strength problem, represented by finite element method analysis. Parametric representation of considered component geometry is used, incorporating manufacturing restrictions and design assembly requirements. The final, optimized form of the spring seat is then compared with its initial shape, i.e. "working space", especially under constraints fulfillment, which are specified by the customer. Performance comparison of used methods (or combination of such) is the aim of this paper, focusing on practical aspects of work, i.e. final mass decrease, number of function calls, or design space exploration capabilities. The optimization method presented hereby is universal and can be adapted to many fields of industry, wherever efficient mass reduction must be achieved incorporating the feasibility of the component. The hybrid optimization approach presented in the paper allows effective mass reduction and works well for multimodal objective functions typically found in industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: Motion comfort of automated driving and other transportation modes. In future automated vehicles we will often engage in non-driving tasks and will not watch the road. This will affect postural stabilization and may elicit discomfort or even motion sickness in dynamic driving. Future vehicles will accommodate this with properly designed seats and interiors, whereas comfortable vehicle motion will be achieved with smooth driving styles and well-designed (active) suspensions. To support research and development in dynamic comfort, this paper presents the validation of a multi-segment full-body human model, including visuo-vestibular and muscle spindle feedback, for postural stabilization. Dynamic driving is evaluated using a "sickening drive", including a 0.2 Hz 4 m/s2 slalom. Vibration transmission is evaluated with compliant automotive seats, applying 3D platform motion and evaluating 3D translation and rotation of pelvis, trunk and head. The model matches human motion in dynamic driving and reproduces fore–aft, lateral and vertical oscillations. Visuo-vestibular and muscle spindle feedback are shown to be essential, in particular, for head–neck stabilization. Active leg muscle control at the hips and knees is shown to be essential to stabilize the trunk in the high-amplitude slalom condition but not with low-amplitude horizontal vibrations. However, active leg muscle control can strongly affect 4–6 Hz vertical vibration transmission. Compared to the vibration tests, the dynamic driving tests show enlarged postural control gains to minimize trunk and head roll and pitch and to align head yaw with driving direction. Human modelling can enable the insights required to achieve breakthrough comfort enhancements, while enabling efficient developments for a wide range of driving conditions, body sizes and other factors. Hence, modelling human postural control can accelerate the innovation of seats and vehicle motion-control strategies for (automated) vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport of liquid water is one of the basic producer requirements to ensure the suitable physiological comfort of drivers. This paper deals with the investigation of car seat covers' efficiency from the point of view of their moisture management. Two methods were used for the evaluation of moisture transport in the car seat cover structures. Both of them use a thermography system for water transport detection. The first method evaluates dynamic water spreading in cross-section in the frontal plane; the second one examines horizontally dynamic spreading of liquid drops on the upper face of the sample. The tested materials were designed to understand the role of the middle layer of textile sandwich car seats in their moisture management behavior. The same PES woven structure in the top layer was used for all tested samples. Knitted spacer fabric (3D spacer fabric), polyurethane foam, and nonwoven were used as padding in the middle layer in car seat covers. In summary, the distribution and transport of liquid moisture in a sandwich structure are fundamentally affected by the middle layer of composite, especially by material composition and the value of porosity. The best results were shown in 3D spacer fabric for car seat covers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little work has been carried out to predict the comfort of aircraft seats, a component in close contact with the human body during travel. In order to more accurately predict the nonlinear and complex relationship between subjective and objective evaluations of comfort, this paper proposes a prediction method based on the Improved Particle Swarm Algorithm (IPSO) and optimized Support Vector Machine Regression (SVR). Focusing on the problems of the too-fast convergence and low accuracy of the traditional particle swarm algorithm (PSO), the improved particle swarm algorithm (IPSO) is obtained by linearly decreasing the dynamic adjustments of inertia weight ω , self-learning factor c 1 , and social factor c 2 ; then, the penalty parameter C and kernel function parameter σ of SVR are optimized by the IPSO algorithm, and the comfort prediction of IPSO-SVR is established. The prediction accuracy of IPSO-SVR was 94.00%, the root mean square error RMSE was 0.37, the mean absolute value error MAE was 0.32, and the goodness of fit R2 was 0.92. The results show that the optimized IPSO-SVR prediction model can more accurately predict seat comfort under different angles and backrest tilt angles and can provide reference and research value for related industries. The results show that the optimized nonlinear prediction model of IPSO-SVR has higher accuracy, and its prediction method is feasible and generalizable, meaning it can provide a reliable basis for the prediction of seat comfort under different angles and backrest inclinations, as well as providing reference and research value for related industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of this paper is to analyze flow loss of the ventilated seats by seating position for driver. Also, this work includes the method of analysis as to body pressure distribution, ventilation performance, subjective valuation, and flow loss. The experiment is conducted with a male who is 75 kg of weight and 177 cm of height corresponding AM 50 % (American model) and the evaluation of the vehicle seat is conducted through the regular inspections after mass production system. As far as the seating positions as experimenter preference is concerned, it is verified to stress the load at cushion and back from the body pressure. The trend of ventilation performance is shown to be highly at internal temperature sensors attached to face of the vehicle seat without working ventilation. Consequently, the temperature range of cushion and back of vehicle seat is increased in order of lay down < lean(rest) < normal conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The examination of seated occupants' ride comfort under whole-body vibration is a complex topic that involves multiple factors. Whole-body vibration refers to the mechanical vibration that is transmitted to the entire body through a supporting surface, such as a vehicle seat, when traveling on rough or uneven surfaces. There are several methods to assess ride comfort under whole-body vibration, such as subjective assessments, objective measurements, and mathematical models. Subjective assessments involve asking participants to rate their perceived level of discomfort or satisfaction during the vibration exposure, typically using a numerical scale or questionnaire. Objective measurements include accelerometers or vibration meters that record the actual physical vibrations transmitted to the body during the exposure. Mathematical models use various physiological and biomechanical parameters to predict the level of discomfort based on the vibration data. The examination of seated occupants ride comfort under whole-body vibration has been of great interest for many years. In this paper, a multi-body biomechanical model of a seated occupant with a backrest is proposed to perform ride comfort analysis. The novelty of the present model is that it represents complete passenger by including thighs, legs, and foot which were neglected in the past research. A multi-objective firefly algorithm is developed to evaluate the biomechanical parameters (mass, stiffness and damping) of the proposed model. Based on the optimized parameters, segmental transmissibilities are calculated and compared with experimental readings. The proposed model is then combined with a 7-dofs commercial car model to perform a ride comfort study. The ISO 2631-1:1997 ride comfort standards are used to compare the simulated segmental accelerations. Additionally, the influence of biomechanical parameters on most critical organs is analyzed to improve ride comfort. The outcomes of the analysis reveal that seated occupants perceive maximum vibration in the 3–6 Hz frequency range. To improve seated occupants' ride comfort, automotive designers must concentrate on the pelvis region. The adopted methodology and outcomes are helpful to evaluate protective measures in automobile industries. Furthermore, these procedures may be used to reduce the musculoskeletal disorders in seated occupants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a prototype of a disinfection system for public transport specifically aiming to disinfect surfaces contaminated with the SARS-CoV-2 virus on buses using 222 nm wavelength far-ultraviolet light (far-UVC). Our study involved testing the developed technical system installed in a 12 m long M3 category urban bus, an investigation of optimal far-UVC light angles, and the determination of disinfection parameters for bus seat disinfection. The study identified the ideal positioning of a light source for effective disinfection and analyzed three disinfection scenarios, considering zone coverage, disinfection time, and energy demand. A subsystem employing real-time occupancy monitoring enhances the disinfection process in crowded areas of buses. An energy efficiency assessment model is proposed for optimizing energy consumption. Furthermore, the energy consumption analyses in different disinfection scenarios provide valuable insights for optimizing energy usage in public transport disinfection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to propose a complete and powerful methodology that allows the optimization of the passive suspension system of vehicles, which simultaneously takes comfort and safety into account and provides a set of optimal solutions through a Pareto-optimal front, in a low computational time. Design/methodology/approach: Unlike papers that consider simple vehicle models (quarter vehicle model or half car model) and/or simplified road profiles (harmonic excitation, for example) and/or perform a single-objective optimization and/or execute the dynamic analysis in the time domain, this paper presents an effective and fast methodology for the multi-objective optimization of the suspension system of a full-car model (including the driver seat) traveling on an irregular road profile, whose dynamic response is determined in the frequency domain, considerably reducing computational time. Findings: The results showed that there was a reduction of 28% in the driver seat vertical acceleration weighted root mean square (RMS) value of the proposed model, which is directly related to comfort, and, simultaneously, an improvement or constancy concerning safety, with low computational cost. Hence, the proposed methodology can be indicated as a successful tool for the optimal design of the suspension systems, considering, simultaneously, comfort and safety. Originality/value: Despite the extensive literature on optimizing vehicle passive suspension systems, papers combining multi-objective optimization presenting a Pareto-optimal front as a set of optimal results, a full-vehicle model (including the driver seat), an irregular road profile and the determination of the dynamic response in the frequency domain are not found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) is one of the typical structured, systematic and proactive approaches for product or system failure analysis. A critical step in FMEA is identifying potential failure modes for product sub-systems, components, and processes, for which component-failure mode (CF) knowledge is necessarily needed as an important source of knowledge. However, this knowledge is usually acquired manually based on historical documents such as bills of material and failure analysis reports, which is a labor-intensive and time-consuming task, incurring inefficiency and plenty of mistakes. Nevertheless, few existing studies have developed an effective and intelligent approach to acquiring accurate CF knowledge automatically. To fill the gap, this paper proposes a method to construct the CF matrix automatically by mining unstructured and short quality problem texts and mapping as well as representing them as CF knowledge. Starting with mining the frequent itemsets of failure modes through Apriori algorithm, the method uses the semantic dictionary WordNet to find synonyms in the set of failure modes, based on which the standard set of failure modes is finally built. Subsequently, upon the previous work and components set, we design the component-failure mode matrix mining (CFMM) algorithm and apply it to establish the CF matrix from unstructured quality problem texts. Lastly, we examine the quality data of the seat module of an automobile company as a case study in order to validate the proposed method. The result shows that the failure mode extraction method with standardized features can extract failure modes more effectively than the FP-growth and K-means clustering methods. Meanwhile, the devised CFMM algorithm can extract more combinations of CF than the FP-growth method and build a richer CF matrix. Although different industries have distinct domain characteristics, our proposed method can be applicable not only to manufacturing but also to other fields needing FMEA to enhance product and system reliability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to solve the problems of slow manual inspection speed and low fault detection accuracy of car seat back parts, this article using Q company's car seat back parts researches and designs a car seat back classification and quality inspection screening system. Firstly, SURF (speeded up robust features) is combined with the CNN (convolutional neural network) to classify three types of car seat backrests: A, B, and C. Then, to establish the spring hook angle detection model of the car seat back to detect the misfitting and omission of the Class A car seat back springs, experimental results showed that the neural network-based car seat back detection method proposed in this paper had a feature point mismatch rate, which is less than 1.5% in the classification and recognition of car seat backs. The recognition rate of the training sample was 100% and that of the test sample was 99.56%. The accuracy rate of detection when inspecting 50 car seat backrests reached 98%, and the test results showed that the system can effectively reduce labor costs and improve the detection efficiency of auto parts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blast mitigation continues to be a popular field of research when military vehicles are concerned. The main problem is coping with the vehicle global motion consequences following an explosion. The paper presents a potential application of the linear vacuum packed particle (VPP) damper as a supplementation for a viscous shock absorber in a traditional blast mitigation seat design. The paper also presents field test results for the underbelly blast explosion, comparing them to the laboratory tests carried out on the impact bench. To collect accelerations, the anthropomorphic test device, i.e. the Hybrid III dummy, was used. A set of numerical simulations of the modified blast mitigation seat with the additional VPP linear damper were revealed. The VPP damper was modeled according to the Johnson-Cook model of viscoplasticity. The Hertzian contact theory was adopted to model the contact between the vehicle and the ground. The reduction of the dynamic response index (DRI) in the case of the VPP damper application was also proved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Occupant impact safety is critical for train development. This paper proposes a systematic procedure for developing validated numerical occupant crash scenarios for high-speed trains by integrating experimental, computational, and inverse methods. As the train interior is the most potentially injury-causing factor, the material properties were acquired by mechanical tests, and constitutive models were calibrated using inverse methods. The validity of the seat material constitutive model was further verified via drop tower tests. Finite element (FE) and multibody (MB) models of train occupant-seat interactions in frontal impact were established in LS-DYNA and MADYMO software, respectively, using the experimentally acquired materials/mechanical characteristics. Three dummy sled crash tests with different folding table and backrest configurations were conducted to validate the numerical occupant-seat models and to further assess occupant injury in train collisions. The occupant impact responses between dummy tests and simulations were quantitatively compared using a correlation and analysis (CORA) objective rating method. Results indicated that the experimentally calibrated numerical seat-occupant models could effectively reproduce the occupant responses in bullet train collisions (CORA scores >80%). Compared with the train seat-occupant MB model, the FE model could simulate the head acceleration with slightly more acceptable fidelity, however, the FE model CORA scores were slightly less than for the MB models. The maximum head acceleration was 30 g but the maximum HIC score was 17.4. When opening the folding table, the occupant's chest injury was not obvious, but the neck-table contact and "chokehold" may potentially be severe and require further assessment. This study demonstrates the value of experimental data for occupant-seat model interactions in train collisions and provides practical help for train interior safety design and formulation of standards for rolling stock interior passive safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graduated compression is widely used for medical application to prevent perioperative venous thromboembolism, but other applications such as sportswear can potentially also benefit from it. A tight-fit cycling shirt meant to ensure the correct position during cycling and prevent injuries was designed. The aim of this study was to improve garment pattern design from the aspect of clothing pressure for providing support and enhancing comfort to the user. This paper investigates the suitability of pressure maps from 3D fashion design software CLO 3D for design and in particular its capability to discriminate between various materials and cycling postures. Moreover, the impact of the mechanical properties of fabric was analyzed. In particular, virtual prototyping tool CLO 3D and pressure mapping were employed to achieve the required graduated compression while ensuring fit and comfort. Pattern adjustments were iteratively performed until stress, strain, and pressure maps showed adequate fit and pressure of the cycling garment on the virtual cyclist in static and dynamic cycling positions. The impact of fabric types on garment fit has been shown by generating the stress, strain, and pressure maps with a virtual simulation. It was found that the visualized pressure on the human body model shows distributions that are related to contact between body and garment, and large compression stresses occur in the lower parts of the two shirts. Evident garment deformation was shown at hip level, upper arm, lower front side seam, and front neck, which can reduce garment wear comfort and freedom of movement. The output was found to be sufficiently accurate to optimize the garments based on material and cycling posture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the main fields of application of personal sound zones (PSZs) is the car industry. PSZ systems are usually designed assuming that the acoustic environment is not changing. However, due to variability in the car cabin's acoustic conditions, it is necessary to design a system capable of adapting to these variations. This paper introduces the use of the filtered-x least-mean-squares algorithm to adapt a PSZ system in a car cabin when the seat positions change. The article focuses on four aspects. First, the effect of the initial coefficients is investigated to help with the convergence of the adaptive algorithm. Second, a study is made on the definition of the desired pressure and its effect on the reproduction. Third, the system's sensitivity to external noise is also evaluated. Last, the possibility to reduce the number of microphones for the adaptive system is considered. The method's performance is evaluated using a two headrest system installed in a car cabin and when moving the seats to different positions. It is shown that the system is capable of maintaining the performance in the different seat positions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the near future, cities will have to supply innovative and high value-added mobility services, that shall be sustainable in terms of environmental impact, traffic management and energy efficiency. This represents a great challenge: transportation accounts for 20% of the global energy consumption, with a large share in urban areas (around 40% of total transport consumption). One of the most promising solutions to reduce congestion, energy consumption and air pollutants in highly-populated areas is Ride Sharing. Ride Sharing systems aim to bring together travellers with similar itineraries and time schedules, thus providing significant societal and environmental benefits, such as reducing the number of cars used for personal travel and improving the utilization of available seat capacity (also defined "occupancy rate"). This paper examines the impact of Ride Sharing by developing an enhanced transport model in Visum, which takes into account the shareability of passengers mobility patterns. The model is applied to the Milan Metropolitan Area, which represents an interesting test case for two main reasons: first, its high population density and strong transport offer and second, the large amount of information and data available on passengers mobility. The paper assumes an optimal 20% participation rate to Ride Sharing and estimates its benefits in terms of congestion reduction, energy efficiency and environmental impact. The COPERT software is used to estimate Carbon Dioxide emissions and fuel consumption savings. The simulation results show that Ride Sharing brings a sort of rebound effect, since there is an increase in passengers traveling by car. However, the overall effect is a reduction in the number of vehicles used, with consequent reductions in vehicle kilometers travelled (-3.8%). This translates into 6% energy savings and 6% Carbon Dioxide emissions reduction. Some policy recommendations are provided to develop Ride Sharing in order to increase the effectiveness of this system while restraining side effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the literature the value of the driver's head acceleration has been widely used as an objective function for the modification of the suspension and/or the seat characteristics in order to optimize the ride comfort of a vehicle. For these optimization procedures various lumped parameter Vehicle–Seat–Human models are proposed. In the present paper a Quarter Car model is integrated with three Seat–Human models with different levels of detail. The level of detail corresponds to the number of degrees of freedom used to describe the Seat–Human system. Firstly, the performance of the Quarter Car model, used as a basis, is analyzed in six excitations with different characteristics. Then, the performance of the three lumped parameter Vehicle–Seat–Human models are monitored in the same excitations. The results indicated that in the case of single disturbance excitations the Quarter Car model provided 50–75% higher values of acceleration compared with the eight degrees of freedom model. As far as the periodic excitation is concerned, the Vehicle–Seat–Human models provided values of acceleration up to eight times those of the Quarter Car model. On the other hand, in stochastic excitations the Vehicle–Seat–Human model with three degrees of freedom produced the closest results to the Quarter Car model followed by the eight degrees of freedom model. Finally, with respect to the computational efficiency it was found that an increase in the degrees of freedom of the Vehicle–Seat–Human model by one caused an increase in the CPU time from 2.1 to 2.6%, while increasing the number of the degrees of freedom by five increased the CPU time from 7.4 to 11.5% depending on the excitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of this article is to present the possibility of assessing the intensity of the impact of vibrations on vehicle users. During vehicle operation, many factors can have impacts on changes in the characteristics of car suspension, which can affect passenger comfort. This paper presents the results obtained from calculations based on a mathematical model, as well as from measurements during laboratory tests. The tests were performed on vehicles that differed in characteristics of damping suspension. The tests were carried out using a test stand for evaluating the effectiveness of shock absorbers in vehicles. During the tests, vibration propagations on the driver's seat and the steering wheel were evaluated. An analysis of the amplitudes and frequencies of vibrations experienced by occupants was carried out. A method for assessing the impact of changes in the damping characteristics of a suspension system on vehicle users' comfort during technical inspection was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The seat of a construction machinery cab is used as the research object. For the current human-seat coupling system comfort research methods and optimization index deficiencies, the seat body pressure comfort and vibration comfort at the same time optimized. Based on the more specialized Toyota 50 percentile dummy model, a human-seat finite element simulation model is established, and the body pressure distribution and vibration response are simulated and calculated. The transverse and longitudinal pressure distributions of the backrest and seat cushion and the pressure map are used to verify the simulation model's body pressure comfort evaluation indexes. At the same time, the vibration response test is used to verify the vibration comfort evaluation indexes of the simulation model. The test results show that the accuracy of each evaluation index of the established coupling model is greater than 85%, which can provide model support for the subsequent optimization work. In order to improve the comfort of the seat of construction machinery during operation, the hardness of the upper sponge and lower layer sponge is reduced and increased by 10% and 15%, respectively, on the original seat. The body pressure comfort evaluation indexes of the ischium peak pressure, ischium mean pressure, thigh peak pressure and thigh mean pressure are used to evaluate the improved seat. The proposed optimization scheme is to reduce the hardness of the upper sponge and lower layer sponge of the seat cushion by 10% to improve the seat body pressure comfort. Finally, the evaluation indexes of body pressure comfort and vibration comfort are verified by four subjects in an improved seat, and the cushion pressure of different subjects is reduced while the vibration isolation rate is increased, which shows the rationality of the proposed optimization scheme. In addition, the evaluation results of the improved seat are different for subjects of different body sizes, with the most significant improvement for the subject of greater height and weight. The modeling and comfort evaluation methods adopted in the paper can provide a reference for the design and development of the seat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the reduction of vehicle interior noise, the Buzz, Squeak and Rattle (BSR) noises have become an intractable problem that needs to be tackled urgently. Seat system rattle noises have a large contribution to the passengers' complaints, due to the close distance between the passengers and seats. The seat structure and its components can be sources of rattle noise based on their physical characteristics. The aim of the present paper is to characterize the sound quality property of rattle noise in seat system, and subsequently, use the characteristics of the rattle noises to assess the subjective responses to the noise. In this study, sound metrics are computed for the signals recorded at different points in the seat system. To be more specific, the signals are recorded before and after the durability test in different loading states. Consequently, the characteristics of the rattle noises were compared and analyzed, and the jury test was performed. On this basis, a rattle index and evaluation models were developed. It is expected that the developed rattle evaluation system and sound quality index can be used to reduce the automotive interior rattle noise in terms of subjective levels as well as objective levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, 64 noise samples from eight electric buses are acquired and their corresponding acoustic comfort ranks (ACRs) are obtained by subjective evaluation tests with the method of rank score comparison (RSC). To overcome a current problem that the overall sound quality of an electric bus cannot be measured by single noise sample, a comprehensive evaluation model for interior acoustic comfort is established using fuzzy comprehensive evaluation and analytic hierarchy process (FCE-AHP). The model is based on a three-level evaluation index system with two conditions of air conditioning on and off, two observation positions of driver and rear seat, and two constant speeds of 30 km/h and 50 km/h. AHP is used to calculate the weight coefficient of each evaluation index. In addition, the ACRs of 64 noise samples are brought into the established model to gain overall sound quality order of eight electric buses. As a result, based on the subjective evaluation tests and calculation results, the application of the established comprehensive acoustic comfort model is ultimately realized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vehicle frontal crashworthiness analysis is an important topic in the field automotive community, as it relates to legislative requirements. Frontal crash models contain a large number of elements and therefore present a high computational cost, especially when performing crashworthiness structural performance optimisations. A new numerical methodology is proposed in this paper with the aim to increase computation speed by implementing a sub-modelling approach on the frontal structure-rear wheels (FSRW) method. In this new method, the vehicle body structure behind the rear seats is replaced by a point mass, with an equivalent mass to the rear structure removed, and attached to the rear frame of the front structure and its wheels. This new method was rigorously tested against validated full size vehicle computer models of different classes provided by NHTSA, and included MPV, SUV, van, and sedan, against fixed rigid barrier (FRB), small overlap and a mobile progressive deformable barrier (MPDB) tests. The research has demonstrated that this new sub-modelling approach correlated against all the full size NHTSA computer models in deformations, intrusions, velocities, and accelerations, as well as providing a runtime average reduction between 7% and 23%. This new simplified method, which can be easily implemented, is innovative and will have an important impact vehicle design, as it will allow an easier use of optimisation techniques, which will lead to safer vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The detection of seat belts is an essential aspect of vehicle safety. It is crucial in providing protection in the event of an accident. Seat belt detection devices are installed into many automobiles, although they may be easily manipulated or disregarded. As a result, the existing approaches and algorithms for seat belt detection are insufficient. Using various external methods and algorithms, it is required to determine if the seat belt is fastened or not. This paper proposes an approach to identify seat belt fastness using the concepts of image processing and deep learning. Our proposed approach can be deployed in any organizational setup to aid the concerned authorities in identifying whether or not the drivers of the vehicles passing through the entrance have buckled their seat belts up. If a seat belt is not detected in a vehicle, the number plate recognition module records the vehicle number. The concerned authorities might use this record to take further necessary actions. This way, the organization authorities can keep track of all the vehicles entering the premises and ensure that all drivers/shotgun seat passengers are wearing seat belts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drivers of heavy trucks are exposed to large amounts of vibration which can lead to serious health risks. Many suspension systems/methods can be used to isolate these transmitted vibrations, such as vehicle suspension systems, cabin suspension systems and seating suspension systems. The central idea of the work is to identify the research gaps and raise our future research questions in this specific area. The novelty of this paper is proposing a model predictive controller for active vibration control of seating suspension systems. A systematic literature review of the existing work of the vibration control of seating suspension systems has been conducted. Various control techniques that are used in the seating suspension systems have been summarized and evaluated. This paper focusses on the biodynamic model of the driver and seat for the first step needed in the design of the seating suspension system. Then, it illustrates the different types of the system vibration controls and their performance evaluation methods. At the end, the paper details several active seating suspension systems including their actuation system structures and control algorithms which are used in the heavy vehicle trucks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reform of the self–governments in Slovakia caused the transfer of competencies from state authorities to municipalities. Every municipality is in accordance with Act no. 369/1990 Coll. on the Municipal Establishment obliged to ensure original and transferred competences for its inhabitants. However, for objective reasons, not all municipalities are able to perform them. Municipalities began to use the possibility of mutual contractual cooperation in accordance with the amendment to the Act on Municipal Establishment, under which municipalities can cooperate with each other for the purpose of carrying out a specific task or activity. Such cooperation between municipalities also exists for the purpose of exercising competence in the field of the building order. Pursuant to Act no. 50/1976 Coll. as amended, each municipality is a building authority. The aim of the paper is to qualitatively assess the reasons for contractual cooperation between the municipalities of the Nitra (NR) and Košice (KE) regions in the area of the building order (by using the method of structured interview). So far, 2 649 municipalities, which are a part of 189 joint building offices (JBO), have used the possibility of mutual contractual cooperation in the SR. Specifically, in the NR region there are 343 municipalities, which are part of 26 JBOs and in the KE region 391 municipalities, which are part of 28 JBOs. The qualitative method was used to find out the opinions of the building offices. Based on the obtained results, an optimal solution for problems of cooperation of municipalities was proposed by adopting new legislation, namely by the allocation of building offices to the seats of registry offices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2012, large amounts of white marble Buddhist statues of the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi Dynasties were unearthed from the Buddhist sculpture hoard at Bei Wuzhuang in Ye City Site. This paper makes a comparative study on a bodhisattva statue in meditation seated in half-lotus posture (resting right ankle on the knee of pendent left leg and holding right hand upward) among them and another sculpture of the same type and made in the same period unearthed at the Xiude Monastery site in Dingzhou; from the double-tree, stupa and coiling dragon designs shown by them, this paper explores the commonalities and differences of the Buddhist arts in these two areas. Moreover, this paper reveals that this motif emerged earlier in the Ye City area than in the Dingzhou area, and diffused to the latter after it became popular in the Ye City area. By these conclusions, this paper infers that the white marble meditating statue seated in half-lotus position with the date of the second year of Wuding Era (544 CE) in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA was produced in Ye City area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the results of laboratory simulation tests of a suspension system for a car seat. The first part of the paper contains a description of the experiment, paying particular attention to the conditions in which the tests were conducted and the properties of the electrically controlled damper, which was mounted in the tested car seat's suspension. Graphs of the damper's operation were determined for different values of current intensity and the signal controlling the damper's damping ratio and then the damping characteristics were determined on this basis. Simulated tests of the car seat's suspension were carried out on a car component test station. During the tests, the values measured were the acceleration recorded at selected points on the dummy, which was placed on a seat equipped with suspension using a magnetorheological (MR) damper during the experiment. The second part of the paper presents an analysis of the results of the experimental tests with particular emphasis on the influence of the current that controls the operation of the damper on the values of the RMS index of the acceleration at selected points of the dummy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyester is currently the main material used for the manufacture of safety belts used in car transport for the protection of passengers and the driver. The seat belt is the main passive safety element used in vehicle engineering. In this work, the behavior of two safety belts, one with three-point fastening and the other with four-point fastening, which equip the seat of a racing car used in Formula Student for use in a frontal impact with a vertical wall. A model with finite elements is used to describe the entire car–driver shock-absorber assembly. The von Mises stresses calculated for both cases under consideration are below the tensile strength. The tensions arising in the belt and the accelerations required at various points of the driver's body are determined by both the properties of the utilized polyester and the chosen construction variant. The obtained results justify the use of the three-point and four-point belt in the cases of both common and race cars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A lot of daily activities are conducted in a sedentary posture. This includes a thermal interaction between the human and the seat that has implications on thermal perception and comfort. These interactions are investigated by simulating heat and mass transfer, thus, reducing a need for costly and time demanding subject studies. However, it is not clear, from the available literature, what portion of the body surface area is actually affected by the seat with respect to human anthropometry. The aim of this study was to develop a predicting function of the seat contact area based on anthropometric parameters. The results showed strong linear correlation between the contact area obtained by printing a body silhouette on paper placed at the seat and body weight, height, body surface area, and body mass index. The body surface area and the body weight were identified as the best predictors for the contact area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]