Predicting passengers' evaluation of riding comfort is an effective method for improving design of wheelchair transporting apparatus. This study aims to clarify the relationship between vibration and riding comfort and propose a method to support designing the apparatus using the findings obtained in this study. A vibration experiment of a passenger-wheelchair system was performed with a vibration generator in order to examine this relationship. As the result of our analysis, multiple regression formulas that determine the relationship between floor/body vibration and riding comfort are obtained. Moreover, vertical vibration on the upper torso is found to be closely related to the riding comfort. Finally, we proposed a vibration evaluation model that can predict riding comfort from the acceleration and frequency of vertical vibration on the upper torso, which will be valuable in designing the wheelchair transporting apparatus.
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