Pune: Does your car seat seem not ‘perfect’ for you? Does your workstation which is praised in European countries feel oddly uncomfortable here? The Indian body may not necessarily fit a European template and a new centre in Pune wants to solve this disconnect.India is set to get its first Advanced Ergonomics and Human Factors Research Centre (AEHFRC), with Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and COEP Technological University joining hands to establish the facility at COEP Tech’s Research and Innovation Park in Chikhali.The first phase, planned over the next two to three years, will focus on establishing and upgrading facilities for posture evaluation, seating comfort analysis, human biomechanics and field-of-vision assessment. The second phase, expected to take another four to five years, will lead to the development of a full-scale AEHFRC, said the official notification from ARAI.“Indian users are fundamentally different from European populations in terms of anthropometry, including body dimensions, proportions and physical characteristics. As a result, ergonomics standards, comfort criteria and testing protocols developed using European datasets may not accurately reflect Indian users or operating conditions,” said Rahul Mahajan, senior deputy director, ARAI.He added, “The difference extends beyond physical attributes to how products are used in India, including driving patterns, road environments and climatic conditions. The proposed AEHFRC will help build ‘Indian’ anthropometric databases, standards, design and validation methodologies needed for safer, more comfortable and user-centric products aligned with Indian conditions.”Apart from ARAI and COEP, the project will be funded by other industry stakeholders such as govt bodies (ministries), industry partners, CSR initiatives and other institutions. Spread across 38,000 square feet, with an investment of Rs 105 crore, the facility, said the official release from ARAI, will help a wide range of sectors, including automotive, defence, aerospace, railways, agriculture, industrial equipment, consumer products, furniture, construction and built environments, and textiles.
