Abstract
As vehicles transition into intelligent, electrified platforms, the automotive cabin is rapidly transforming into a “mobile third space” that blurs the boundaries between transportation, productivity, and leisure. In this evolving context, cabin comfort extends beyond physical parameters—such as temperature or seating posture—to encompass emotional well-being, interactive experiences, and aesthetic resonance. However, the design of comfort remains largely rooted in engineering-driven metrics, with limited understanding of how users perceive and articulate comfort in real-world use. To bridge this gap, we conducted a large-scale computational analysis of over 440,000 authentic user reviews from mainstream automotive platforms. Using a combination of word frequency analysis, sentiment analysis, and topic modeling, we identified a multidimensional spectrum of comfort perceptions, including spatial layout, seat ergonomics, visual design, driving dynamics, and human-machine interaction. The results reveal nuanced user priorities, highlight recurring dissatisfaction themes, and underscore the growing importance of emotional and interactional elements in shaping comfort perceptions. From these findings, we summarize a hierarchical, user-centered framework for cabin comfort that integrates physical, functional, and emotional dimensions. This framework serves as a conceptual and practical tool for the next generation of vehicle design. By foregrounding users’ lived experiences and affective responses, our study contributes to the redefinition of comfort in the era of intelligent mobility—where data-driven empathy becomes a new design imperative.
Keywords
Cabin Comfort; Text Mining; Multidimensional User Perception; Hierarchical Framework
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.1111
Citation
Zhang, X., Huang, Y., Ma, C., Zhao, D.,and Huang, C.(2025) Design Considerations for Redefining Vehicle Cabin Comfort: A User-centered Perspective Based on Large-scale Text Mining, in Chang, C.-Y., and Hsu, Y. (eds.), IASDR 2025: Design Next, 02-05 December, Taiwan. https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.1111
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Track 3 - Design, Art & Technology
Design Considerations for Redefining Vehicle Cabin Comfort: A User-centered Perspective Based on Large-scale Text Mining
As vehicles transition into intelligent, electrified platforms, the automotive cabin is rapidly transforming into a “mobile third space” that blurs the boundaries between transportation, productivity, and leisure. In this evolving context, cabin comfort extends beyond physical parameters—such as temperature or seating posture—to encompass emotional well-being, interactive experiences, and aesthetic resonance. However, the design of comfort remains largely rooted in engineering-driven metrics, with limited understanding of how users perceive and articulate comfort in real-world use. To bridge this gap, we conducted a large-scale computational analysis of over 440,000 authentic user reviews from mainstream automotive platforms. Using a combination of word frequency analysis, sentiment analysis, and topic modeling, we identified a multidimensional spectrum of comfort perceptions, including spatial layout, seat ergonomics, visual design, driving dynamics, and human-machine interaction. The results reveal nuanced user priorities, highlight recurring dissatisfaction themes, and underscore the growing importance of emotional and interactional elements in shaping comfort perceptions. From these findings, we summarize a hierarchical, user-centered framework for cabin comfort that integrates physical, functional, and emotional dimensions. This framework serves as a conceptual and practical tool for the next generation of vehicle design. By foregrounding users’ lived experiences and affective responses, our study contributes to the redefinition of comfort in the era of intelligent mobility—where data-driven empathy becomes a new design imperative.