Digital Human Accommodations

The move from drawing board to CAD and Digital Human Modeling (DHM) has dramatically reduced the time necessary for car design, R&D, and production. But this technological advance has created a gap between the notion of an “ergonomically designed car” and an “ergonomically used car” in the sense of accommodation and comfort.

Since the author is a specialist in ergonomics and engineering, this paper is more about the conceptual method/approach rather than a study in DHM. We attempt to challenge the assumption of car comfort by designers using DHM, and the perception of comfort by drivers as end users.

This paper discusses problems related to drivers' place and comfort while not getting the full benefit from DHM and/or ergonomically designed car. Definition of comfort and its criteria is addressed. There is a description of some futuristic of car's accommodations achievable today or in the near future.