Mobility

Mobility

Mobility is becoming ever-more inclusive, putting users and operators at the heart of planning for cities and collective transport.

At the Instituto de Biomécanica (IBV), we collaborate with all the stakeholders in mobility, from infrastructure and communications managers and designers to the manufacturers of vehicles such as trams, buses and even airplanes, including their components.

We help them create solutions that introduce the latest technology and user experience as essential factors in their success on the market.

We help respond to these essential challenges

USER-FRIENDLY INFRASTRUCTURES

In order to achieve sustainable mobility, environments need to be created that are accessible for people. Infrastructure in such environments has to involve introducing new kinds of vehicles that are autonomous, connected, electric and shared, so as to break down the barriers to mobility. Infrastructures must be comfortable, accessible and provide the user with the information they need at all times.

MOBILITY AS A SERVICE

Mobility as a Service (MaaS) provides a door-to-door transport service with no gaps that is simple, reliable, flexible, reasonably priced and practically made-to-measure. It is a suitable, preferable alternative to using a private car. The essential key to achieve this without a doubt involves including the user when designing the transport network.

SMART CITIES

The solutions developed to manage smart cities must be accessible and understandable for all kinds of users from technicians to managers, including the general public, too.
To do so, it is essential to include all the users and a perspective that takes into account human factors right from the initial stages of the development process.

COMFORTABLE, SAFE PUBLIC TRANSPORT

The design of the vehicles and their components plays a vital role in making public transport attractive. Passengers will only prefer to use public transport over other kinds of transport if it is comfortable, reliable, affordable and accessible. That means it is essential to know of any changes in regulations as well as the users’ needs and characteristics.

Our solutions

We help companies in the mobility sector with the following solutions:

Dibujo en boceto de la movilidad y asientos de un autobus

R&D

We provide the scientific foundations in terms of human factors and ergonomics so our clients can introduce the latest technology and knowledge into their products and environments, ensuring the end user is satisfied and optimizing the cost-efficiency of the developments.

The types of projects we carry out include comfort prediction models for long-distance seats and to find out the reasons for discomfort (physical, acoustic or climatic) in different means of transport.

Render del prototipo para las nuevas puertas de acceso de Metro de Madrid

Technological consultancy

Based on the knowledge acquired, we analyze our clients’ solutions and put forward improvements to redesign them from the point of view of ergonomics and human factors.

We explore the market to find out the requirements in terms of comfort and usability for the users of our clients’ potential products. We make assessments as of the CAD phase and develop design proposals for interfaces, infrastructure elements and interior design that our clients can see in technical construction drawings, and then we implement and test them in our facilities.

Fotografía de los asientos de un vagónn de tren y el esquema de su diseño

Inspection and testing

We carry out tests to meet regulations and tailored to our clients’ needs, accompanying them in the design processes and in improving their products and environments.

Comfort testing. We carry out static, thermal, dynamic and acoustic testing on components or complete vehicles (field tests).

Interface testing. We assess the interfaces’ usability and level of distraction, whether in management systems (vehicle fleets, cities, autonomous subway train) or on-board aspects (management system for breakdowns or monitoring vehicles).

Fotografía del interior de un vagón de metro

Training

At IBV we provide training in biomechanics methods, regulations and concepts applied to the design and development of cabins, passenger areas and user-centered spaces.

In close collaboration with a multi-disciplinary team of experts in ergonomics, design, human factors and user experience, we teach courses tailored to our clients’ needs.

R&D projects

ADIVA

Snapshot of transport by bus in the province of Valencia.

DISENS

Improvement of fleet and competitiveness using a decision-making tool to design passenger cabin elements and on-board services based on the quality parameters perceived by the passengers.