Advanced Passenger Seat Designed for Improving Comfort and Ergonomic Considerations
Related theses
Advanced aircraft passenger seat : a qualitative and quantitative study of comfort (pdf) by Narmanda
Advanced aircraft seat design: solving the problem of rearward space intrusion with a sliding-out seat back (pdf) by Koh, Chong Hin

The goal of this project was to design and develop an advanced coach-class commercial transport seat that would improve passenger comfort during long-haul flights. Here, the student leader secured the support of B/E Aerospace Corp. in Litchfield Connecticut. B/E manufactures 60% of all the commercial airliner seats in the world! Support included information and test/validation assistance - but B/E was careful not to suggest to the students what the best outcome would be. It was purely up to the students to discover this. After multiple faculty surveys and considerable analysis, the student team designed and fabricated two prototypes. These prototypes were placed in a simulated commercial transport cabin (see accompanying figures) and test subjects were put through flight scenarios that even included serving food.

Statistically significant results revealed that the students identified a number of novel concepts that could improve seating products. B/E's John Williamson, Director of Advanced Development, stated that "the team has identified things that we are just starting to think about." The team was honored to respond to a request in which they visited the B/E facility to educate 15 of B/E's engineers so they could effectively do what the students did.

B/E Aerospace has included the MIT study results in their marketing brochure. Their engineers now instrument seat backs and bottoms for load pattern analysis and correlation with subjective discomfort observations… something our students did for the first time. Seats with the advanced tray concept are currently flying. Fully designed and crash-tested prototypes of the students non-intrusive seatback reclining concept are currently being shown to both U.S and S.E. Asia/Indonesian carriers. B/E believes the concept will fly first on the other side of the world because their problems with "air rage" are more severe than ours. Other seat project elements dealing with webbed concepts and advanced materials are currently undergoing technology development and are expected to enter service at a latter date.

In addition to B/E Aerospace, the Oregon Aero Corp., Northwest Airlines, and Milligen & Co. also provided support for this project.

Cabin Test Arrangement (Conventional & Prototype Seats) For Design Impact On Passenger Comfort

Example Seat Load Distribution Change With Time

Instrumented Back & Buttock Loading

Send comments to: boppe@mit.edu