Autonomous Vehicle Reconfigurable Seats
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Solution Overview
Problem
As autonomous vehicles become more sophisticated, there is a need for passenger compartments that can adapt to allow passengers to focus on non-driving-related tasks during autonomous operation, requiring reconfigurable seating arrangements that can change from front-facing to rear-facing positions and be stowed when not in use.
Innovation Solution
The autonomous vehicle incorporates reconfigurable seats that can pivot, rotate, or fold, controlled by motors, allowing them to change positions from front-facing to rear-facing and be stowed under the instrument panel, along with a system that includes autonomous driving sensors and a controller to manage vehicle subsystems for safe operation in autonomous mode.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If seats are made reconfigurable to allow passengers to focus on non-driving tasks during autonomous operation, then passenger comfort and social interaction are improved, but device complexity increases due to additional motors and control systems
Solution Approach 1:
The seat assembly is designed to perform multiple functions: it serves as both a passenger seat and a reconfigurable component that can pivot, rotate, and fold into various positions. The same motorized mechanism enables the seat to transition between front-facing and rear-facing orientations, as well as fold flat for storage, eliminating the need for separate mechanisms for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The seat assembly incorporates dynamic movement capabilities through motorized actuators that enable continuous adjustment between different positions. The seat can pivot on a vertical axis to change orientation, rotate to face different directions, and fold along horizontal axes to reduce its footprint, transforming from a static component to a dynamically reconfigurable one.
2Volume of moving object
If seats can be stowed under the instrument panel to optimize space, then space utilization is improved, but ease of operation decreases due to limited access and manual reconfiguration difficulty
Solution Approach 1:
The seat reconfiguration system is equipped with integrated motorized actuators that automatically perform the pivoting, rotating, and folding operations required to move the seat between its various positions and the stowed position under the instrument panel. This eliminates the need for manual effort by passengers to reconfigure the seats themselves.
Solution Approach 2:
A control system acts as an intermediary between the passenger's request and the physical seat reconfiguration. The control system receives commands (either manual input from passengers or automatic commands from the autonomous vehicle system) and coordinates the motorized actuators to execute the sequence of movements required to reconfigure the seats, simplifying the operation for users.
3Adaptability or versatility
If seats are designed to pivot and rotate for social interaction, then passenger interaction capability is improved, but reliability decreases due to additional moving parts and potential failure points
Solution Approach 1:
The seat assembly incorporates dynamic movement capabilities through motorized actuators that enable continuous adjustment between different positions. The seat can pivot on a vertical axis to change orientation, rotate to face different directions, and fold along horizontal axes to reduce its footprint, transforming from a static component to a dynamically reconfigurable one.
Solution Approach 2:
The seat reconfiguration system incorporates feedback mechanisms that monitor the position and status of the seat at various stages of movement. Sensors detect whether the seat has successfully pivoted, rotated, or folded into the desired position, and this information is fed back to the control system to confirm proper reconfiguration or trigger error handling procedures if a movement fails.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle includes a passenger compartment and at least one seat located in the passenger compartment. The seat can be moved from a front-facing position to a rear-facing position for when the vehicle is operating in an autonomous mode. The vehicle may further include autonomous driving sensors and an autonomous controller that receives signals generated by the autonomous driving sensors and controls at least one vehicle subsystems according to the signals received.