Improving car passengers' comfort and experience by supporting the use of handheld devices

There is a demand for interiors to support other activities in a car than controlling the vehicle. Currently, this is the case for the car passengers and--in the future--autonomous driving cars will also facilitate drivers to perform other activities. One of these activities is working with handheld devices.

Previous research shows that people experience problems when using handheld devices in a moving vehicle and the use of handheld devices generally causes unwanted neck flexion [Young et al. 2012; Sin and Zu 2011; Gold et al.2011]. In this study, armrests are designed to support the arms when using handheld devices in a driving car in order to decrease neck flexion.

Neck flexion was measured by attaching markers on the C7 and tragus. Discomfort was indicated on a body map on a scale 1-10. User experience was evaluated in a semi-structured interview.

Neck flexion is significantly decreased by the support of the armrests and approaches a neutral position. Furthermore, overall comfort and comfort in the neck region specifically are significantly increased. Subjects appreciate the body posture facilitated by the armrests and 9 out of 10 prefer using handheld devices with the armrests compared to using handheld devices without the armrests.

More efforts are needed to develop the mock-up into an established product, but the angles and dimensions presented in this study could serve as guidelines.