Abstract
Nowadays, the need for producing ultra-compact electric vehicles has been increasing especially in the current Japan automobile industry, as a way of traveling and transportation for elderly people. We suggest active seat suspension (ASS) to improve the ride comfort for uneven roads run as a high value-added product. The ASS carried voice coil motor (VCM) is a kind of a linear motor as actuator. The objective of this study is to inspect the utility and effectiveness of the ASS. The ultra-compact electric vehicles are different from a normal vehicle, and frequent riding into passage ways and uneven roads occurs. There are a lot of steps and small obstacles on a road surface, and the aggravation of the ride comfort of the vehicle is expected by the comparatively low-speed run. Thus, we have examined the control performance of this system and its practicality in terms of ride comfort with the aim of reducing the vibration of the seat surface. In this paper, we focused on the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle activity of passengers and head displacement when falling from a bump.
