Stadium Smart Seat

The key criteria for the design set by the client was that is needed to be 'sexy' which was rather a poor descriptor for a highly engineered and technology savvy product but one that Cheryl Fraser humorously referenced at the concept stage. The end result leans more to sophistication than sexy but at the same time embraces the human body in its soft and flowing forms and engages with the user to provide a total seating experience where the technology is discrete but always available. The design of the Smart Seat encourages patrons to connect with the information rich Stadium technology by utilizing simple, clean lines echoing the sophisticated intelligence of the embedded Samsung tablet.

The very nature of a sporting event is one of conflict and passion and the end result is that stadium infrastructure must be engineered to withstand passionate accidental impact and the Smart Seat is no exception. The primary challenge was the development of a rugged water resistant enclosure that is a world first in presenting a domestic grade high definition tablet in an outdoor public arena. The articulated pivot and rotate mechanism was engineered for robustness and ultimate reliability and the mechanism survived over 8000 life cycle actions, more than 5 years of continuous operation. The integration of a cup holder into the seat architecture also added to the functionality of the design.

Developing a product for use by a wide variety of patrons ranging from small children to large adults in a confined space and in a dynamic sporting environment was indeed a challenge. The tablet has a wide viewing angle and the tilt and pivot mechanism was designed to allow multiple viewing positions with set stops and intermediate positions via the preset torsion adjustment. The smooth lines and soft edges of both the enclosure and the housing are designed to ameliorate accidental impact and entrapment during the operation of the Smart Seat.

The primary consideration of the design team and the client, was to deliver a product of sufficient style and quality that would be reflective of the premium member experience of the Medallion Club at Etihad stadium. The Camatic seating system into which the Smart Seat attaches is of world class quality and we were also cognisant of the fact that the total seating experience was critical. All key components were engineered to last incorporating high grade aluminium, engineering grade plastics and a state of the art Torlon bearing system. All plastic components are injection moulded in an ABS/Polycarbonate blend.