Design and Experimental Identification of an Active Seat Suspension Mechatronic System

The paper presents the design of an active seat suspension system for a medium-sized passenger vehicle (installation height of 180 mm), which is aimed at enhancing passenger comfort, with an emphasis on autonomous vehicle applications. The system is developed in two design variants based on Scott–Russell and Kempe mechanisms. The former is characterized by high rigidity and low friction, and it serves as a benchmark solution in this research. The latter is distinguished by cost-effectiveness and, thus, targeted for production vehicle applications once it is verified against the benchmark solution. Both designs are developed to satisfy the operational requirements derived from system computer simulations (suspension stroke of ±40 mm, speed of up to 0.5 m/s, and acceleration of up to 1 g), which are based on a half-car vehicle model extended with seat suspension dynamics and controlled by a linear quadratic regulator. The paper also outlines the electrical, measurement, and basic control subsystem of the overall active seat suspension mechatronic system. Finally, it presents experimental identification results to illustrate that the designed system complies with the specified requirements.