Introduction

The invention describes a modular vehicle seat with a passenger detection system, consisting of several rigid and padded modules, supported by force sensors. In response to the occupant forces in the seat, an electrical harness allows meaningful driving information to be detected and communicated to the vehicle controller.

Technical features

Each independent seat module covers an area of ​​interest, is supported by linear, robust, reliable, repeatable, high-resolution force sensors and detects the resultant of the pressure discharged on it and on the sensors. An electrical harness makes it possible to obtain a reduced number of clean signals and to communicate with the vehicle control system. The software, in C language and executed by Arduino Mega, manages the absolute module that controls the car, a mobile reference platform, and the relative one that controls the weight shifts on the 13 seat modules. In a continuous cycle, the software reads the signals from all sensors and sends them to the Microsoft Excel PLX-DAQ application. The accelerations and weighings are then printed on a simplified HMI in real time. The software aligns the coordinate systems of the absolute and relative modules and compares their dynamic reading over time.

Possible Applications

• Driver monitoring;
• Augmented driver experience;
• Comfort of drivers and occupants using active movements of the seat;
• Automotive OEMs for cars, commercial vehicles and driving simulators sectors.

Advantages

• Resulting force measurement on each module;
• Measurement of biometric data;
• Detection of prolonged posture, accommodations, driving style, out of position;
• Accurate, fast and reliable measurement with Boolean sensors;
• Avoid errors due to irregularities of surfaces / materials and occupants of different percentile.