Comparisons of Whole Body Vibration,Muscle Activity and Non-driving Task Performance between Different Seat Suspensions in an Autonomous Passenger Car Application

Abstract

This study compared whole body vibration (WBV), muscle activity and non-driving task performance between different seat suspension settings in a simulated autonomous passenger car environment. To simulate autonomous vehicle environment, field-measured vibration profiles were recreated on a large-scale 6-degree-of-freedom motion platform. In a repeated-measures laboratory experiment, we measured whole body vibration, muscle activity (neck, shoulder and low back), participants non-driving task performance while participants performed non-driving tasks (pointing task with a laptop trackpad, keyboard typing, web-browsing, and reading) on three different suspension seats mounted on the motion platform: vertical (z-axis) electromagnetic active suspension, multi-axial (lateral (y-axis) and vertical (z-axis)) electromagnetic active suspension, and no suspension (industry standard suspension-less seat for passenger cars). The average weighted vibration [A(8)] and vibration dose value [VDV(8)] showed that the seat measured vibration on both the vertical [A(8) = 0.29 m/s² and VDV(8) = 10.70 m/s^1.75] and multi-axial suspension seats [A(8) = 0.29 m/s² and VDV(8) = 10.22m/s^1.75] were lower than no-suspension seat vibration [A(8) = 0.36 m/s² and VDV(8) = 12.84 m/s^1.75]. Despite the significant differences in WBV between the different suspensions there were no significant differences across three different suspension seats in typing performance (typing speed and accuracy: p’s > 0.83), pointing task performance (movement time and accuracy: p’s > 0.87), web-browsing (number of questions and webpages read: p = 0.42), and reading (number of words read: p = 0.30). The muscle activity in low back (erector spinae) and shoulder (trapezius) muscles also did not show any significant differences (p’s > 0.22). These laboratory study findings indicated that despite the significant reduction in WBV, neither vertical nor multi-axial active suspension seats improve non-driving task performance as compared to the no-suspension seat.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Blackstone

J. M.

Karr

Camp

Johnson

P. W.

(2008). Physical exposure differences between children and adults when using standard and small computer input devices. Ergonomics, 51(6), 872–889. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140130701797959.

Blood

R. P.

Ploger

J. D.

Johnson

P. W.

(2010). Whole body vibration exposures in forklift operators: comparison of a mechanical and air suspension seat. Ergonomics, 53(11), 1385–1394. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2010.519053.

Burström

Nilsson

Wahlström

(2015). Whole-body vibration and the risk of low back pain and sciatica: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 88(4), 403–418. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-014-0971-4.

Goode

Lenné

M. G.

Salmon

(2012). The impact of on-road motion on BMS touch screen device operation. Ergonomics, 55(9), 986–996. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2012.685496

Hermens

H. J.

Freriks

Merletti

Stegeman

Blok

Rau

Hägg

(1999). European recommendations for surface electromyography. Roessingh Research and Development, 8(2), 13–54.

Jonsson

(1982). Measurement and evaluation of local muscular strain in the shoulder during constrained work. Journal of Human Ergology, 11(1), 73–88.

Kim

J. H.

Aulck

Trippany

Johnson

P. W.

(2015). The effects of work surface hardness on mechanical stress, muscle activity, and wrist postures. Work, 52(2), 231–244. https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-152166.

Kim

J. H.

Dennerlein

J. T.

Johnson

P. W.

(2018). The effect of a multi-axis suspension on whole body vibration exposures and physical stress in the neck and low back in agricultural tractor applications. Applied Ergonomics, 68, 80–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2017.10.021.

Kim

J. H.

Zigman

Dennerlein

J. T.

Johnson

P. W.

(2016). Cross-sectional Analysis of Whole Body Vibration Exposures and Health Status among Long-haul Truck Drivers. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 60(1),928–932. https://doi.org/10.1177/1541931213601213.

10.

Lin

C. J.

Liu

C. N.

Chao

C. J.

Chen

H. J.

(2010). The performance of computer input devices in a vibration environment. Ergonomics, 53(4), 478–490. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140130903528186.

11.

Narayanamoorthy

Huzur Saran

(2012). Investigation of activity performance on laptop in vibration environment. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 42(6), 513–524. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ergon.2012.08.005.