Automotive supplier Faurecia has developed a high-tech car seat that can make it easier for drivers to stay relaxed on the road.
The "Active Wellness" seat keeps track of a driver's physical and mental status with a biometric sensing system in the lining, which can tell if the driver's energy level has dropped or if the person is under stress, according to Reuters. The system then provides a massage with a certain pattern and air flow through the seat's ventilation system to calm the driver down.
Faurecia, which calls the seat the world's first health-monitoring car seat, has been working on the product for five years with the goal of helping people feel better after being on the road. The company intended on solving this problem by focusing on each individual in real-time instead of just the "average" person.
The Active Wellness seat's development included cooperation with the Spine Research Institute at Ohio State University, engineers from the NASA and Hoana Medical from the U.S., Reuters reported. The Spine Research Institute provided tools for measuring comfort and reducing discomfort, while the NASA engineers provided sensors for collecting vital signs for accurately and Hoana Medical developed the non-contact sensors for the seats.
Faurecia says that these features work with unique algorithms to produce a system that works effortlessly while the car is moving.
"The Active Wellness seat is Faurecia's vision on the next level of personalized comfort," said Olaf Biedermann, director of innovation at Faurecia, who discussed the project at this year's Frankfurt Auto Show, where the seat was on display.
"I think the uniqueness in this context is that we use the sensor information and have developed- together with a partner- algorithms to analyze heart rate, respiration, stress and energy information of this information."
The seat can sense the driver's heart rhythms and breathing patterns to produce data for measuring their mental and physical state. A message will then appear on the screen in the cabin to provide treatment, and the driver will receive a massage if they accept the recommendation, along with a warm or cool sensation for relaxing or getting energized.
Drivers will also be able to use the seat with any of their wearable fitness devices so that the seat can find out what the user was doing before getting into the car and provide just the right kind of therapy, Reuters noted.
Faurecia plans on bringing the Active Wellness seat to the market by 2020.
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