No time to sit still

Seat developers are revising architectures and components to provide more functions at lower costs.

Seat developers are continuing to broaden the number of electronically controlled features and functions, forcing engineers to alter strategies to cut costs so systems can be deployed beyond luxury vehicles. Engineers are redrawing their architectures, distributing intelligence, and pulling functions into centralized controllers while also revising strategies on motors and sensors.

Functions such as positioning and heating continue to offer more versatility, in some instances becoming so complex that consumers must use smartphones or tablets to get the right settings. At the same time, new functions including safety-related vibrations and enhanced lighting are also being integrated into seats.