SOUTHFIELD—Officials at Lear Corp. (NYSE: LEA), the Southfield-based manufacturer of automotive interiors and electronics, and Gentherm Inc. (Nasdaq: THRM), the Northville manufacturer of thermal management technology, announced the introduction of a new seating system, Intu Thermal Comfort with ClimateSense. The system aims to create an ideal personal climate through its intelligent software, using ambient cabin conditions to provide optimized comfort.
“Today’s consumers are looking to personalize their in-vehicle experience with smart, predictive options that are highly efficient, and we see the seat as the next frontier,” said John Absmeier, Lear’s CTO.
Added Gentherm president and CEO Phil Eyler: “Our collaboration with Lear addresses consumer preferences of today and tomorrow by combining Gentherm’s expertise in human thermophysiology and Lear’s strength as a leader of automotive seating and electronic systems. Our joint efforts have resulted in a smart solution that delivers faster passenger comfort and automatically adjusts based on occupant temperature preferences and profiles. Gentherm’s ClimateSense technology delivers significant energy savings and is designed for optimal efficiency and thermal comfort.”
As opposed to the traditional HVAC system, the joint innovation uses intelligent zonal thermal management to create personalized comfort, improving overall vehicle efficiency while drawing on Lear’s intelligent seating system expertise to provide advanced solutions for comfort, wellness, safety and sound.
Depending on the setting, the technology can account for in-vehicle and outside environments and personal preferences and efficiently manages the distribution of heating and cooling toward segments that have a significant impact on body thermal sensation and comfort.
Lear and Gentherm first announced a joint development partnership in January 2019. The Intu Thermal Comfort with ClimateSense technology is the first market-ready solution developed from the collaboration.
More at lear.com, or www.gentherm.com.