Open Cut » Health and Safety
This report details work undertaken to implement an actively isolated vehicle seat. The research involved the trials of fully-actively-damped hydraulically powered seats and a semi-actively damped seat. The term semi-active refers to the configuration in which an actively controlled damper is inserted in place of a passive damper, and the degree of damping is actively controlled.
The report concludes the fully-actively-damped hydraulically-powered seat was unsuccessful in trials, and it is also no longer a technology that is being actively pursued by the manufacturer. The semi-active seat was also unsuccessful in trials, however, it has potential to be improved as a result of the finding of trials in this project.
The research has not identified a successful actively damped seat, but it has identified a potentially successful seat in the semi-active configuration. The research has also identified technology on the horizon that may lead to a successful seat.
The technology associated with active vibration isolation is currently in a state of flux, whether or not a technology in this area will be implemented widely remains to be seen.