Final Project, Molding Car Seats

Intention

The intent of this project is to see how basic forms of E-Textiles could be incorporated into car seats for high performance applications. When the passenger sits in the seat, the seat would slowly conform to them, based off their body shape and weight. This could result in a more secure seating position.

Process and/or Research

As of now the current car seat market ranges from large leather cushions as seen in luxury vehicles such as the Rolls Royce Phantom,

 to racing or "bucket" seats as seen in the Porsche 911 GT3 RS

 Both of these are stark opposites in the automotive world. The former is meant to cushion the passenger as much as possible, while the latter is meant to "hug" them and keep them in place at high speed corners. Recently however, consumers have shifted their focus to wanting more out of their vehicles. Simply having a single-use vehicle is not enough, it must be sporty yet comfortable, raw yet refined. This dichotomy has forced automakers to create unorthodox solutions to appease the pickier masses. 

Thus automakers such as Mercedes-Benz, have come up with interesting solutions to combat the problem. Their solution involves placing air bladders within the seats. When the driver encounters a turn, the seats inflate to hold them in place.

Product

I hope to approach this solution using muscle wire and resistive fabric. When the driver sits in the car and turns it on, their weight pushes a series of resistive fabric buttons within the seats. This causes current to flow to the muscle wires, hence hugging the driver tighter. This tightness could be based off the mode the car is in (comfort, sport, etc.). In a sportier mode, more current could flow to the wires causing a tighter grip, while in comfort it would be less. 

Sample Book

Buttons

Muscle Wire

Gemma sound circuit