Challenge #6 – Spudmonkey - Chair

[spudmonkey]

Not sure if I will complete this or not, but thought I would post some work here anyway as it might help others...

First concept:

This is based around an adjustable office chair but with built in command modules and screens, giving instant access to core functions whilst allowing the operator to adjust the seat, back and arms as much as possible. The seat defaults to a near standing position but can go almost flat for those slower travelling moments or be moved into a more traditional seating position. The screen is lower than head height to allow the operator to see over the top to view other screens, crew members and so on. Seat belts seem like a good idea, but may be replaced with rollercoaster style shoulder restraints instead for ease of access and egress

The concept is ok, but is possibly a bit too contemporary and not futuristic enough, so it could stand some refinement

[Freak]

It an intresting idea.

[spudmonkey]

It's a start. I think some of the aesthetics won't be properly fleshed out until modeling time, but it's a good base to work from. I could always do a lot of different chairs and pick one at the end

[Zabiegly]

One thing that I noticed is that the screens are relatively far away from where the persons head would be and for the distance screen-eye they are also quite small which would make them hard to read if there's more information on them then just a few words in large font.

I like the flowing lines of the chair, espcially the base is really cool. Not sure about those three cylinders for the back though.

The idea of a rollercoaster-restrainer instead of seatbelts sounds cool but depends heavily on your design. I think it's pretty hard to design it so it fits with the chair and doesn't make it look too bulky as right now it seems to be a rather svelte

[gpdesigner]

cool concept . . I like the idea that the user is almost in a standing position.
Almost like he can move about, but the wieght is taken off of his feet a bit . .
nice
gp

[spudmonkey]

The chair is a little bit too far back for the knee rest, so the screen would be closer. Also the front shot of the screen looks pretty poor, so I think that will change to a larger set of three screens which are opaque. I'm fleshing out the model in 3D at the moment, and the cylinders work, but they are spread out too far, so there needs to be more than just the three. I'll post something shortly to show you

[Freak]

Look forward to seeing it!

[spudmonkey]

This is pretty rough, but it should give you an idea of whether it works or not... It's a little dull, but it's not meant to be the final article yet

Edit: Quick reshape on some parts to make it flow a little better

[Zabiegly]

You get a "definitely works" from me

Just a thought - the controll panels look a bit big and "heavy" to me and throw the whole thing off-balance.

[spudmonkey]

Originally Posted by Zabiegly

Just a thought - the controll panels look a bit big and "heavy" to me and throw the whole thing off-balance.

Yep, agreed. I'm still playing with the size and shape of the components. The arms will have more joints and will need some sort of bracket around the padding for example, and the relative sizes will need to change. I already reversed the base as it looks very off balance with it round the other way. Looked ok in the sketch, but once you have it in 3D it soon becomes clear where the problems are!