In-car comfort for your rear end

NEVER HAVE you cherished a petrolstation stop on a long road trip more than when you get to walk around for a bit to let the aches and pains in your backside subside. Well, groundbreaking work from Jaguar Land Rover has delivered a unique way to ensure you won’t have to suffer from a pain in the bum for much longer. The folks who make the world-famous Defender are busy developing a shape-shifting system in their seat to help mitigate health risks that may arise from sitting down for too long.

Using constant micro-adjustments, the seat uses a series of actuators in the foam to almost trick your brain into thinking you’re walking and not sitting. The manufacturer says these adjustments could be tailored to individually suit each driver and passenger. According to the World Health Organization, more than a quarter of people worldwide are increasingly spending most of their time seated. This can lead to shortened muscles in the legs, hips and gluteals, which in turn can cause back pain and leave you at a higher risk of injury due to weakened muscles.

The seats would create a pelvic oscillation movement, which simulates the rhythm of walking.

Chief Medical Officer for Jaguar Land Rover Dr Steve Iley says the well-being of their customers and employees is paramount in all technological research projects that the company undertakes: ‘We are using our engineering expertise to develop the seat of the future and help tackle an issue that affects people across the globe, using innovative technologies not seen before in the automotive industry.’

Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles have already incorporated ergonomic seat designs with multidirectional adjustments and massage functions across their range of vehicles.