11/27/2025

Automotive Vehicles
(BMEE213E)
Module : 6 Ergonomics, Comfort and Safety 4 hours

Venugopal T
Professor
School of Mechanical Engineering

Module-6
Module : 6 Ergonomics, Comfort and Safety 4 hours
 Ergonomics: Regulations and requirements, passenger and driver’s
cabin, dashboard equipment arrangement, positioning of operational
controls, human factors, pedal positioning.
 Comfort: Regulations and requirements - ride and vehicle handling,
HVAC, seating and upholstery.
 Safety: active and passive safety, concept of crumple zone, safety
sandwich construction, passenger and occupant safety – testing.

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Automotive Ergonomics
Automotive ergonomics focuses on the role of human factors in
the design and use of automobiles.

This includes analysis of

 accommodation of driver and/or passengers,
 comfort
 vision inside and outside vehicle
 control and display design
 pedal behavior
 information processing and cognitive load during driving etc.

Anthropometric Measurements
 Conventional Static measurements
 Functional Task Oriented Measurements

Considerations of Automotive Ergonomics

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Conventional static measurements

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Functional task oriented measurements

Functional task oriented measurements

Illustration of a vehicle package layout

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Functional task oriented measurements

Interior package reference points and dimensions

Entry and Exit of Vehicles

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Entry and Exit of Vehicles

Entry and Exit of Vehicles

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Entry and Exit of Vehicles

Two Wheelers

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Drivers Cabin
Functional consideration General functional principle
Driver is comfortable with visual access and can reach all
1. Seated position
primary controls
Hip and ankle angles are important to determine
2. Seat posture—adjustment
comfortable seating
3.a. Seat—height for legs Seat height should accommodate length of knee/ankle
b. Seat—distance to pedals segment and floor/pedal reach
Driver visual access needs to be sufficient to enable clear
4. Seat—height for vision view outside of vehicle (front, sides, rear), as well as visual
access to all controls
Ensure comfortable reaches to all primary controls
5. Seat—distance and reach Access to steering wheel should not be too close (air bag
for primary controls compromised) or too far—avoid too much elbow
abduction

Drivers Cabin
Functional General functional Driver
Some examples/OT considerations
consideration principle considerations

Driver is comfortable Positioning the driver correctly in the

Encourage use of
1. Seated with visual access driver’s seat will optimize postural
backrest and head
position and can reach all control in order to see/reach essential
restraint
primary controls vehicle components

Individual Optimal seating is required for safety

anthropometric restraint systems to work (e.g., seat
requirements are met belts and air bags)
Individual limb/joint Seating set-up may need regular
comfort and reconfiguration, e.g., if vehicle is
positioning to shared with drivers of different body
optimize function size and shape
Hip and ankle angles
Individuals with special needs may
and position for
need a customized approach to
optimal foot pedal
vehicle seating and cabin adjustment
operation
Delleman and Dul (2006), FORS (1996), Helander (2006), Herriotts (2005), Salvendy (2012)

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Drivers Cabin
Functional General functional
Driver considerations Some examples/OT considerations
consideration principle
Ensure hip position in relation to
Hip and ankle Hip reference point
seat pan and backrest angle is
angles are (HRP) and ankle
appropriate before adjusting other
2. Seat posture— important to reference point (ARP)
postural elements, e.g., check that
adjustment determine used as key
driver is sitting with their pelvis well
comfortable anthropometric
back in the seat with spine
seating baseline “markers”
supported by the backrest
Lower limb
position/placement
This encourages use of backrest and
determines upper limb
head restraint
postural support and
comfort
Adjust the lumbar feature (if
available) to provide support

Car Dashboard-Components
• a speedometer and a tachometer,
• an odometer
• a coolant and engine oil temperature gauge,
• a fuel level gauge
• dashboard lights – these can indicate when the lights are on, warn of
component failures, or indicate problems that prevent further driving.
• a radio,
• a cabin temperature regulator,
• an air-conditioning system,
• a navigation system,
• storage compartments and shelves

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Car Dashboard-Symbols
Dashboard symbols can be divided into three basic groups:

● information lights (green, blue or white) – indicate available or currently

activated vehicle functions (e.g. low and high beam, cruise control, turn
indicators),
● warning lights (orange or yellow) – indicate problems that allow you to
continue driving but require you to visit a gas station or service station as
soon as possible (e.g. insufficient tire pressure, damage to glow plugs, low
fuel level)
● Emergency lights (red) – light up when there are problems that may
constitute a problem for further driving (e.g. a weak battery, no brake fluid or
a low level of engine oil).

Dashboard Warning Lights

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HVAC

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Safety Sensor System

Primary safety Secondary safety

To avoid incident To reduce the impact of incident

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Active Safety Systems

Active Safety Systems

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Active Safety Systems

Active Safety Systems

 If a collision is really unavoidable, active

safety technology is also able to reduce its
impact.
 Slowing the speed of a vehicle by a few
kilometers before impact can save lives.
 Indeed, active safety systems have the
potential to not only reduce the number of
accidents, but also can reduce the
consequences of an accident if a collision
cannot be avoided.

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Passive Safety Systems

Passive Safety Systems

Airbags are cushions that are inflated extremely quickly upon
impact (and subsequently deflated) to protect passengers
during a collision. They provide a soft restraint between the
occupants and the vehicle interior during the crash, which
can reduce or even prevent injuries.

Seatbelts (or safety belts) are restraint systems that keep passengers
correctly positioned during an accident or sudden stop, thereby
reducing the impact of the vehicle interior on the body and
preventing people from being ejected.
Seatbelts are pre-tensioned: they are tightened almost instantly
upon impact in order to prevent passengers from being jerked
forward excessively.

Also known as crumple or crush zones, deformation zones take out

the kinetic energy of a crash in a controlled way. This is done through
specifically designed areas of the vehicle that deform and crumple
during an accident to absorb the impact

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Crumple Zone
• Crumple zone known as a crush zone, crumple
zones are areas of a vehicle that are designed
to deform and crumple in a collision. This
absorbs some of the energy of the impact,
preventing it from being transmitted to the
occupants
• The majorly used materials to form an
impact attenuator is a high tensile steel,
composites, carbon fibre and aluminium.

Seat Belt Tensioners

Taking the ‘slack’ out of a seat-belt in the event of an
impact is a good contribution to vehicle passenger safety.

The two main types of tensioners are:

• Spring tension.
• Pyrotechnic.
When the explosive charge is fired, the cable pulls a lever
on the seat-belt reel which in turn tightens the belt.

The unit must be replaced once deployed. This feature is

sometimes described as anti-submarining.

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Seat Belt Tensioners

Collision Avoidance System (CAS)

 A forward collision warning system monitors a vehicle's speed, the
speed of the vehicle in front of it, and the distance between the
vehicles,
 It can provide a warning to the driver if the vehicles get too close,
potentially helping to avoid a crash.

Technologies
 Radar (all-weather)
 Laser (LIDAR) and cameras
 GPS sensors - detect fixed
dangers - approaching stop
signs through a location
database
 Pedestrian detection

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Toyota’s Pre Collision System (PCS)

 Lexus LS forward PCS
 Radar (blue)
 Stereo camera (red) coverage
 vehicle's speed,
 speed of the vehicle in front of it,
 distance between the vehicles

A twin-lens stereo camera located on the windshield,

A more sensitive radar to detect smaller "soft" objects such as animals and pedestrians.
A near-infrared projector located in the headlights allows the system to work at night.
Electric power steering - steering gear ratios, and torque assists to aid the driver's evasive
steering measures.
The lane departure warning system will make automatic steering adjustments to help
ensure that the vehicle maintains its lane in case the driver fails to react.
Driver Monitoring System
Rear-end pre-collision system

Blind-Spot Monitor (BSM)

 Blind spots are areas surrounding the vehicle that are not
captured by rear-view mirrors and side view mirrors.
 There is no ideal position of the mirror or driver seat that can
eliminate this blind spot.
 A lot of accidents can be attributed to changing lanes when
other vehicles are in blind spot.
 Sensors used : Radar, Ultrasonic, Camera and Lidar

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