Final Concept and Design

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3.4.3 Final Concept and Design

In the final concept, five design concepts were generated. The explanations of concepts are as follows: Concept 1: there are two cushions that support the neck on the left side and the right side. Both cushions are static. Concept 2: there is only one neck support cushion. It is cylindrical in shape and placed between head and shoulder. The cushion is static. Concept 3: there are two cylindrical shaped side supports. Each side support is rectangular in shape. Both side supports are placed on the left and the right side of the head. Both airbags are parallel with each other. Both side supports can be activated mechanically. Concept 4: there are two rectangular shape side supports. The side supports are placed on the left and the right side. Both side supports are activated at the same time. Both side supports are powered by compressed air. The air flow to the airbags is controlled by a directional valve. The microcontroller is ATmega and the programming language is Processing. Concept 5: there are two rectangular shape side supports. The side supports are placed on the left and the right side of head. Each side support can be tilted and activated differently in order to support the head effectively. Both side supports are powered by compressed air. The air flow to the airbags is controlled by a proportional valve. The air pressure is measured by the air pressure sensor. A membrane potentiometer is used to detect the presence of passenger. The microcontroller is ATmega. The programming languages are Processing and Arduino. 80 Concepts Evaluation The evaluation of the five concepts was carried out by using the weighted objective method Pugh, 1990. The five concepts were evaluated based on the requirements as shown in Table 3.1. The evaluation of the five concepts is shown in Table 3.3. Eight requirements have been set to evaluate the five concepts. Each element was provided with relative weight e.g. performance 0.20, materials 0.10, size 0.10, reliable 0.20, weight 0.05, strength 0.15, safety 0.05 and design 0.15. Two requirements, namely performance and reliable, were rated with highest weight because the SnS 2 prototype should be functional and support the passenger’s head as well as reliable during the validation experiment. During the brainstorming session, each concept is rated with scores S using ten point scales. Each point is multiplied by the objective weight to give relative values V. Each value is summed up to get the total value for each concept. Subsequently, the total values for each concept are compared and the highest values are selected. Concept 5 as shown in Table 3.3 represented the highest values and was selected as best concept. Concept 5 was selected because the concept is able to perform with good functionality, cost effective material, adjustable size, reliable, light weight prototyping material, good strength, safe and easy to maintain. The solid modeling software, namely SolidWork, was used to visualize concept 5 in three dimensions 3D as shown in Figure 3.19. The exploded view of the SnS 2 prototype is shown in Figure 3.20. Table 3.3 Weighted objective evaluation of SnS 2 prototype concepts. Concept 1 Concept 2 Concept 3 Concept 4 Concept 5 No. Element Weight S V S V S V S V S V 1. Performance 0.20 2 0.40 2 0.40 5 1.00 5 1.00 6 1.20 2. Materials 0.10 3 0.30 2 0.20 4 0.40 4 0.40 4 0.40 3. Size 0.10 5 0.50 2 0.20 5 0.50 6 0.60 6 0.60 4. Reliable 0.20 5 1.00 3 0.60 3 0.60 5 1.00 5 1.00 5. Weight 0.05 4 0.20 5 0.25 3 0.15 3 0.15 4 0.20 6. Strength 0.15 3 0.45 2 0.30 4 0.60 4 0.60 5 0.75 7. Safety 0.05 3 0.15 2 0.10 3 0.15 4 0.20 4 0.20 8. Design 0.15 3 0.15 3 0.45 4 0.60 4 0.60 5 0.75 Total value 3.15 2.50 4.00 4.55 5.1 81 Figure 3.19 The 3D isometric view of SnS 2 prototype. Figure 3.20 The exploded view of SnS 2 prototype. Right airbag Left airbag 82 Based on the evaluation results, the smart neck support system prototype was built. Figure 3.21 shows the first SnS 2 prototype. Figure 3.22 shows the installation of the final SnS 2 prototype to the economy class seat in the aircraft cabin simulator. Figure 3.23 shows an overview of the final SnS 2 prototypes in the aircraft cabin simulator for experimental purpose. Figure 3.21 The first SnS 2 functional prototype. Figure 3.22 The installation of the final SnS 2 functional prototype to the economy class seat in the aircraft cabin simulator. Right cushion Left cushion Neck cushion Head cushion 83 Figure 3.23 Three SNS 2 prototypes embedded in an economy class aircraft seat.

3.5 PROTOTYPE