The Seat Test Automotive Manikin (STAN) was developed to evaluate the thermal comfort and moisture management of automobile seating. The manikin's 50th percentile carbon fiber-epoxy back/buttocks form is patterned after the SAE J826 HPM-II design to provide compatibility with existing automotive seat positioning methods. Integrated weights and lumbar adjustments can be used to control the amount of seat contact and compression. STAN contains six independently controlled thermal zones with optional porous metal sweating skin inserts to simulate metabolic heat and perspiration levels.
The basic STAN system fits many common vehicle seats, though user-specified custom contact profiles can be created. Heaters, temperature sensors and optional sweating inserts with fluid supply system simulate human metabolic levels. The location and number of sweating inserts can be varied to obtain specific regional data. All systems include a dedicated PC computer with ThermDAC software.