Nissan NTCE
- Project timeframe
- 1 February 2010 - 31 March 2011
- Research area
- Design Ergonomics
- Amount awarded
- £145,000
- Funder ID
- Knowledge Transfer Partnership
Project leader: Professor Diane Gyi
The Nissan Green Program commits the company to reducing its vehicles’ CO2 emissions. NTCE’s challenge was to reduce light commercial vehicle CO2 emissions by minimising overall length and weight whilst retaining maximum cargo space.
In an innovative move, the company decided to investigate the feasibility of a novel, space-saving driving position. This required a comprehensive ergonomic study to develop and test variants of the new driving position to ensure human safety, operation and comfort. A 12-month Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with Loughborough School of Design and Creative Arts provided NTCE with access to extensive ergonomics expertise and the advanced test facilities required to undertake this research.
The project combined the University’s ergonomic expertise with NTCE’s vehicle development capability to study driving posture ergonomics, build test rigs, and define how posture can be optimised. The collaboration enabled NTCE engineers to develop core ergonomics skills and expertise, and provided specific ergonomic data for the global Nissan Engineering Standards to help influence future vehicle design. The partnership also established the University as one of Nissan’s global academic partners for R&D related to ergonomics and posture development.