One of the most common method to experimentally assess the perceived comfort while seating is the analysis of pressure map at the interface between the seat-parts and the seated human. Several pressuredistribution based methods have been developed for analyzing objective data coming from user experience or experimental setups. The Mergl model is one of the most used in data analysis for synthetizing the output data in a few-parameters dataset. In fact, in the Mergl's Comfort Model, the human body is divided into different comfort zones, each of which has a different physiological response to pressure, and allows for detailed analysis of the distribution of pressure in different body zones. The main goal of this paper is the development of a tool that is able to process data of Pressure-mats, using the Mergl’s model, and to create a dataset of few parameters that describes the pressure map through the most commonly used measures: mean pressure, pressure peak, pressure distribution, Variance in space and time. The study is based on an experimental dataset acquired through the use of the XSensor mat: the automated tools allows to take as input the pressure data (experimental or simulated), due to the interaction between the user and the seat, and to automatically identify the Mergl’s partition of pressure map in seat-referenced areas. The developed tool allows also to extract, for each area, parameters like pressure peaks’ value and location, average pressure and load distribution. This information, returned by the software in a clear and detailed way, provides an accurate view of the phenomenon, and can be used by designers or researchers to modify seat design or study interventions to improve driver comfort. The tool has been used for analyzing experiments’ data and was able to reveal differences between drivers, taking into account individual anthropometric characteristics and differences among seats while used by the same user.
Seat comfort assessment through pressure map analysis: a tool for automated Mergl-model mapping
Cozzolino Mattia
Writing – Original Draft Preparation
;Magliano Alfonso;Naddeo AlessandroWriting – Review & Editing
2025
Abstract
One of the most common method to experimentally assess the perceived comfort while seating is the analysis of pressure map at the interface between the seat-parts and the seated human. Several pressuredistribution based methods have been developed for analyzing objective data coming from user experience or experimental setups. The Mergl model is one of the most used in data analysis for synthetizing the output data in a few-parameters dataset. In fact, in the Mergl's Comfort Model, the human body is divided into different comfort zones, each of which has a different physiological response to pressure, and allows for detailed analysis of the distribution of pressure in different body zones. The main goal of this paper is the development of a tool that is able to process data of Pressure-mats, using the Mergl’s model, and to create a dataset of few parameters that describes the pressure map through the most commonly used measures: mean pressure, pressure peak, pressure distribution, Variance in space and time. The study is based on an experimental dataset acquired through the use of the XSensor mat: the automated tools allows to take as input the pressure data (experimental or simulated), due to the interaction between the user and the seat, and to automatically identify the Mergl’s partition of pressure map in seat-referenced areas. The developed tool allows also to extract, for each area, parameters like pressure peaks’ value and location, average pressure and load distribution. This information, returned by the software in a clear and detailed way, provides an accurate view of the phenomenon, and can be used by designers or researchers to modify seat design or study interventions to improve driver comfort. The tool has been used for analyzing experiments’ data and was able to reveal differences between drivers, taking into account individual anthropometric characteristics and differences among seats while used by the same user.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
