Professional drivers experience high rates of health-related issues in performing their job. In fact, bus drivers have been reported to have the 8th highest rate of days missed due to pain and soreness. This not only impacts the health, safety, and satisfaction of the bus operators and passengers, it also affects the profitability of the transit entities.

To alleviate this problem experienced by the bus drivers and passengers, this project will develop a pneumatically powered mechano-therapeutic cushion with embedded fluidic logic. The lightweight cushion, made of low-cost durable and washable textile, will be retrofittable and will be powered solely by an on-board pressure supply to provide oscillatory mechanotherapy without needing any electronics. Leveraging fluidic logic (rather than electronics) to create a periodic output from a constant input, the fluidic actuation and control will enable higher forces, more comfortable use, and simplified and more robust architectures compared to electronic actuation. The control and actuators are intertwined and embedded directly into the textile, creating a metamaterial system. Made entirely of textiles and air, the cushion will be comfortable and is expected to reduce fatigue and injuries in transit. 

The research will involve developing an analytical model governing the oscillatory behavior. A prototype oscillator will be created  and scaled for larger volumes and forces required for cushion-based mechanotherapy.  The design, fabrication, and performance of oscillator embedded in the seat cushion will be optimized for small-scale testing. The cushion will then be integrated into the bus to verify its function and record quantitative data to ensure consistency and agreement with benchtop experiments. A pilot study in coordination with Houston Metro will be conducted to obtain qualitative feedback from the users.

The developed cushion system will be a “plug and play” system That is, the monolithic system will only require placing on the seat and plugging into the on-board pressure supply (if the system is not already installed). The periodic actuation inducing mechanotherapy is automatically initiated with the introduction of a pressurized supply. Made entirely of textiles and air, the cushion will be comfortable and will reduce fatigue and injuries in transit. It will be lightweight, low-cost, durable, and washable. It will also be retrofittable into current infrastructure, and the cost of replacing it will be almost negligible.