Dhama Innovations which developed temperature-controlled automobile seats along with American auto major General Motors has decided to take the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) route to promote this technology in the commercial vehicle (CV) industry.
“The temperature-controlled seat is an effective and extremely cost viable solution to address driver fatigue, particularly commercial vehicle drivers who drive long distance in extreme weather conditions,” said Kranthi Kiran Vistakula, chief innovator, Dhama Innovations.
“To keep the cost low, we are seeking to go through the OEM route so that the drivers and transporters community benefit from this innovative technology,” he said.
The company believes that tapping the retail network would make the product expensive which will act as a deterrent for its use.
Mr. Vistakula, from MIT, U.S., has been working on developing this technology for past 7 years. The car/CV seat is co-patented with General Motors.
Dhama is in talks with OEMs in India to integrate the technology in the driver seats.
The seat is designed factoring in the thermal map and pressure map of human body while driving and that makes it ergonomically suitable for addressing the issue of driver fatigue.
Cost-effective
The battery-operated seats, which cool driver’s body in a non-AC cabin, have no impact on mileage thereby making it a cost effective solution, the firm said.
