51. Comparative Assessment of Aircraft Seat (Dis)Comfort via Planned Experiments
- Author
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VANACORE, AMALIA, LANZOTTI, ANTONIO, Migliore L., Percuoco, Chiara, Capasso A., Vitolo B., Vanacore, Amalia, Lanzotti, Antonio, Migliore, L., Percuoco, Chiara, Capasso, A., and Vitolo, B.
- Subjects
aircraft seat, seat-interface pressure, discomfort body area ratings, designed experiments - Abstract
Over the years, air traffic has been constantly increasing: in 2013, over 3 billion passengers were carried by the world’s airlines; according to a recent Airbus’ global market forecast, air traffic will double in the next 15 years, showing 4.7% annual growth between 2013 and 2034 (Airbus, 2016). Despite the growing demand, airlines are still one of the lowest-scoring industries in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) and seat comfort is the most unsatisfying aspect of flying (ACSI, 2016). As a matter of fact, improving seat comfort can provide an opportunity to gain competitive edge in aircraft industry. This paper focuses on the assessment of aircraft seating (dis)comfort via a statistical-experimental approach. Seating (dis)comfort data (both objective and subjective) were collected during an experiment involving 18 volunteers (9 males and 9 females) who tested two aircraft seats in upright and upright/reclined configuration, respectively. Data were collected under controlled experimental conditions. In order to minimize experimental uncertainty due to well-known noise factors (i.e. patterns of discomfort during the work week and during the workday, evalua-tion sequence, inter-individual variability), experimental trials were performed according to a crossover de-sign. The whole experiment consisted of 54 experimental sessions; the duration of each session was approxi-mately 40 minutes. In each test run, the participant performed a fixed task so as to minimize differences in postures and control the effect of body posture upon pressure distribution at seat-interface. Statistical data analysis aimed at: 1) investigating gender–based differences in seating (dis)comfort; 2) identifying critical discomfort body areas; 3) analyzing time-variation in seating (dis)comfort. The experimental results are in line with the acknowledged hypotheses that males and females are exposed to different loading patterns and experience different discomfort pathways, due to fundamental biomechanical differences in their sitting pos-ture and anthropometric peculiarities. Moreover, results pinpoint that perceived discomfort increases signifi-cantly over time in several body areas.
- Published
- 2017