Abstract
Virtual Reality techniques are more and more used to validate the design hypotheses during different phases of the product development. In the automotive field, however, there are some types of analyses that are unlikely to be performed by using only a Virtual Prototype (VP) of the vehicle. Therefore, the trend is to develop systems -called seating bucks- that enable engineers to integrate virtual and real objects to provide a tangible interface for the VP of the vehicle. This research aims at defining a new system and an evaluation protocol to improve, simplify and speed up the usual activities carried out for the ergonomic assessment of the driver's seat. In particular, we are interested in evaluating the ergonomics of car's dashboard with its knobs, buttons, display and other control systems. In this paper, we have described the development of this system by providing useful information about the physical issues, related to the seating buck structure, and about the development of the MR environment. The system and the evaluation protocol have been validated by performing several testing sessions with users. The tests confirm the effectiveness of our approach and have enabled us to achieve at interesting considerations.
Highlights
In the last decades, automotive industry has strongly reduced the time to market of their products in order to satisfy the demand of global market
Automotive designers are making an ever-increasing use of Virtual Reality (VR) techniques in order to validate their own design hypotheses during different phases of the product development
The trend in automotive field is to develop systems that enable engineers to integrate virtual and real objects in order to provide a tangible interface for the Virtual Prototype (VP) of the vehicle
Summary
Automotive industry has strongly reduced the time to market of their products in order to satisfy the demand of global market. Automotive designers are making an ever-increasing use of Virtual Reality (VR) techniques in order to validate their own design hypotheses during different phases of the product development. The use of these techniques allows reducing the production of physical prototypes that are very expensive and requires long production times. The design of a driver’s seat is centered on aesthetic values and safety requirements, but it is strongly related to ergonomic aspects, which obviously require the study of the interaction between the user and the components
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