Automotive Systems Group

Automotive Design & Production, Feb, 2003 by Gary S. Vasilash

You may recognize (perhaps you need to check what you're sitting in behind your desk) the Leap seat from Steelcase shown here morphing into an automotive-style seat. That's precisely what's happening as Johnson Controls (Plymouth, MI] and Steelcase (Grand Rapids, MI) have gotten together to create a seat that will be offered to automakers.

As Jeff Edwards, group vice president and general manager, North America for the Automotive Systems Group of Johnson Controls puts it, "With these seats, we believe automakers will be able to add significant value to their vehicles--and truly differentiate them in the marketplace." The Leap seat has what's called the "Live Back" system, which contours to the individual without manual adjustment, and the "Natural Glide" system, which has the seat bottom move forward as the seat back reclines, thereby maintaining the person's reach and visual orientation. Both of these features are certainly valuable in automotive interiors. Some thought was given to rebranding the name of the product for automotive applications, but it was felt that there was such good recognition to the "Leap" name that they'd use it for vehicles. This is certainly a good example of the implementation of technology developed for another area into the auto, a good example of leveraging resources for mutual benefit.