This dissertation was written as part of the MSc in Strategic Product Design at the International Hellenic University.
According to the history of international car racing industry, driver’s safety is one of the most crucial factors. Since the beginning, there were many deadly incidents and despite the changes of rules and regulations all these years, those accidents still exist.
In the mid of 1980s, Dr Bob Hubbart, a biomechanical engineering professor at Michigan State University in the USA, invented the HANS (Head and Neck Support). The original HANS was created to prevent head movements during a crash incident that would otherwise cause serious damages to the specific area or even death. Although the original HANS caused some difficulties in the performance of the drivers experience, after some few changes it was introduced to Formula One racing in 2003 and became mandatory from FIA(Fédération Internationale l'Automobile) from 2008 onwards.
The aim of this dissertation is to redesign the HANS safety device in order to excel driver’s experience and enhance the connection between drivers and racing team staff during the racing events. It is based on the principals of the product development that are referred to the book (Product Design and Development Karl T. Ulrich and Steven D. Eppinger 5th edition, Irwin McGraw-Hill, 2012)
The main supervisor of this dissertation is Professor Dimitrios Karalekas (University of Piraeus) and the course office of the International Hellenic University. People who contributed in this dissertation are: Stamoulis Zervas (Captain, Electronics Engineer at Hellenic Airforce), Dalakouras George (student at MSc in Environmental Management and Sustainable Development, IHU), Aggelos Spatharas (student at Electrical and Computer Engineer department, UTH). Also, Ms Maria Dalakoura and the IED – Institute of Enterpreneurship Development located in Larissa, Greece. Last but not least, all the national formula university teams that participate every year at the biggest European racing events.
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