Desktop lighting for comfortable use of a computer screen.

Background: The contrast between a bright computer screen and a dark ambient environment may influence comfort of the users, especially on their eyes.

Objective: The objective of this research is to identify the optimal desktop lighting for the comfortable use of the computer screen in a dark environment.

Methods: An experiment was designed where seven illumination setups were introduced for the users to perform their leisure tasks on a computer screen.

PCQ: Preferred Comfort Questionnaires for product design.

Background: Selecting the most suitable questionnaire(s) in comfort research for product design is always a challenge, even for experienced researchers.

Objective: The objective of this research is to create a list of Preferred Comfort Questionnaires (PCQ) for product design to help researchers in the selection of questionnaires for comfort research.

Methods: Fifteen questionnaires that are often used in comfort research for product design were selected as candidate questionnaires.

Designing a floor plan using aircraft seat comfort knowledge by aircraft interior experts.

Background: Recent research indicated that an 18'' ×30'' aircraft seat resulted in nearly the same level of comfort as a 17'' ×34'' seat. However, it took less space in the floor plan.

Objectives: This study explores seat layouts preferred by experts regarding different criteria.

Differences and similarities in comfort and discomfort experience in nine countries in Asia, the Americas and Europe.

In order to investigate differences in comfort and discomfort experiences amongst different regions of the world (America, Asia and Europe), a cross cultural study was performed. A questionnaire was sent to participants out in nine countries (Brazil, Canada, the USA, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands). In total 795 participants completed the questionnaires.

The effect of aircraft seat pitch on comfort.

This study explores the relationship between seat pitch and comfort, and the influencing factors, like space experience and anthropometric measurements. Two hundred ninety-four participants experienced economy class seats in a Boeing 737 with 28-inch, 30-inch, 32-inch and 34-inch seat pitches. Anthropometric measurements of the participants were measured.

Future vehicles: the effect of seat configuration on posture and quality of conversation.

The percentage of passengers that prefer travelling in groups is increasing. In most vehicles, passengers sit side by side and need to turn their body to be engaged in the conversation with their fellow travellers. However, rotating the body could lead to discomfort which influences conversation quality.

Towards comfortable communication in future vehicles.

This research aims to study the effect of seat and/or backrest rotation on comfort and quality of conversation. Different sitting arrangements were tested to study the effect of the seat layout on: 1) (dis)comfort experience; 2) conversation quality and 3) postures. Two seats were arranged in different angles (0°, 45°, 90°, and 180°) at the same distance (1 m) and participants were asked to talk to each other.