Math-Based Design of Sensing Bladders

Through the use of finite-element modeling, pressure patterns on the underside of seat foam can be computed for a variety of occupants and seating positions. A design tool has been created which allows an engineer to evaluate different layouts for a pressure-sensing bladder in just minutes. This is important to meet FMVSS-208 safety regulations for vehicles sold in the US. Further, an artificial intelligence search engine has been applied to this problem to achieve near-optimal performance given the constraints of the seat design. Results are shown and compared with the traditional manual method of layout design.