Michigan, United States -- Developers at Lear Corp are working on a new automotive seat system which utilises in-seat air sacs to adjust to the specific posture needs of its occupant.
Dubbed "Proactive Posture Seating," the company first began developing the innovative seat three years ago when ceo Matthew Simoncini had back pain. The new system works through the analysis of data provided by pressure points within the seat. That information is fed to a computer which adjusts the air within the sacs so that the occcupants weight is distributed evenly.
Since then, the company has filed a flurry of patents seating system-related patents.
Some patents outline systems of ‘electrical sensors and monitors for monitoring and adjusting vehicle seats in response to an occupant's body position in the vehicle seat.’
Earlier this month, Simoncini said the current system - developed with the help of Simoncini’s own chiropractor - has eight adjustable air bags within it – and that figure could double.
According to the company’s seating-relating patent filings, the new system could include hardware and software for monitoring and storing data about the seating position of vehicle’s occupant.
Karl Henn, Lear Corp’s director of production technology, said air sacs would gently nudge the occupant into a more upright position.
“It will allow the driver to breathe more easily and minimise fatigue on long trips.
As reported at Utech-polyurethane.com, both automotive component makers Johnson Controls and Faurecia have developed their own versions of the self-adjusting automotive seat.
