Technological consultancy
One of the main challenges we face at the Instituto de Biomecánica (IBV) is to help our clients reduce the gap between research and development for solutions that respond suitably to the market’s needs.
To do so, we carry out one-off and ongoing technological consultancy projects in which we combine specific knowledge of the market with our scientific knowledge acquired in areas such as anthropometry, human functions, the biomechanics of body systems, human factors and people’s needs and preferences.
We carry out consultancy projects for the following markets:
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Automotive
At the Instituto de Biomecánica (IBV), we apply scientific knowledge of biomechanics and human factors to improve our clients’ products.
We simulate scenarios of use for the products in realistic environments (from CAD to the prototype or finished product) in order to study the response from the users and the effect on comfort and security, whether by observation and the use of perception questionnaires or via measurements using biomechanical instruments.
Based on an analysis of the results, we give our clients solutions to improve their products, which may even include redesign, technical drawings or concept, or else technical specifications.
We advise our clients as regards development, whether referring to physical components of vehicles (seats or cockpit), interaction systems (screens, tactile or gesture interaction systems), an analysis of driver or passenger behaviour (travel sickness, stress, drowsiness or fatigue), or as regards the user’s comfort requirements (temperature, smell, sensory experience in the vehicle’s interior).
Habitat
When the goal is to provide services based on knowledge, the classic approaches applied are usually R&D projects, testing services and training. However, technical knowledge is often only one of the ingredients necessary to make headway in business initiatives, especially in companies’ initial stage.
When two products are similar as regards response in terms of biomechanics, thermal properties, quality, etc., why is one perceived as more comfortable or more usable than another? We have to go beyond the techniques associated with subjective surveys when we have to work with small samples or find the differences between products that users are not able to express.
Collaborative design and the implementation of agile methods allow us to carry out consultancy projects with our clients, collaborating with them in drawing up design briefings considering the market from the very beginning; that is, including future clients and users from inception.
We help turn ideas into future products that will be attractive, different, functional, easy-to-use and which satisfy people’s needs and expectations.
Our flexibility and dedication to service places emphasis on other non-technical factors such as knowledge of the market, institutional support to foster innovation, and how the accreditation and standardisation systems work in accordance with the regulatory bodies in the market; all of which are as relevant if not more so than aspects of the technical design of products and services.
Mobility
We collaborate with our clients on the end user’s approval of the client’s developments (rolling stock, ticketing systems), as well as on conceiving new services (shared mobility) and products by analysing users’ trends and needs.
To do so, we use the existing scientific knowledge, the regulations applicable to the industry or related industries, or else we carry out trials with users in our laboratories or in the field, if the client so requires. Throughout this process, we have a great deal of interaction with the end client and with all of the parties involved through specialist technical staff who help integrate the boundary conditions specific to each client into the solutions.
As a result, we create proposals for improvement that may even include technical drawings or concept designs that the end client can easily implement.
Clothing
We provide companies in the footwear and clothing industry with a full range of technological consultancy services to transfer the knowledge and technology created by our R&D activity.
Our work can be adapted to each client’s needs at any stage in the process of developing and selling products and services:
Detection of users’ needs and preferences using methods such as surveys, focus groups or netnography.
Strategic definition of a product or service to adapt to the user’s needs and the reality of the market.
Conceptual and detailed design, providing innovative ideas as of the initial stages of conceptualising the product or service.
Creation of prototypes, using rapid manufacturing techniques that bring innovation to the company and lower the cost of development.
Selection of materials or redesign to optimise the product or service’s characteristics.
Validation of innovative products and services under real conditions with users to ensure their success on the market.
Support for production, distribution and sale processes involving users and influencers of the new product or service.
Tourism and leisure
We provide technological consultancy for the different stakeholders in the tourism and leisure industry as regards lean methods for agile creation of products and services to match users’ preferences, expectations, needs and characteristics (UX).
Working hand-in-hand with a multi-disciplinary team of experts in design, user experience, usability and accessibility, with state-of-the-art environments for collaborative co-creation at our disposal, we help our clients develop the minimum viable products that are easy to test in the market. This enables them to reach the target tourists by taking into account their tastes and preferences, as well as the industry’s current and future trends.
Sports
At the Instituto de Biomecánica (IBV), we transfer the knowledge generated by our own R&D to methods for evaluating the capabilities of any sports equipment, material or product. We can also count on the trust of the main sports federations and entities that organise competitions when drawing up procedures and protocols to ensure the safety, functionality and quality of all the aspects involved in doing sports as varied as athletics, football, tennis, rugby, basketball, karate, paddle tennis or billiards.
We hold AENOR’s CTN147 standardisation committee secretariat, which in Spain deals with the creation of standards affecting sports matters. Through this committee, we promote and foster the adaptation and development of new regulations for the market, adapting them to the needs of all the stakeholders involved in it such as users, companies, public bodies, etc.
Furthermore, we adapt our knowledge and technology to give companies simple tools and methods that are affordable and easily introduced into their day-to-day work and their different business models. This helps them boost innovation and develop new products and services by themselves as quickly and flexibly as the market demands in order to keep up a competitive edge over time.
Rehabilitation and personal autonomy
We provide our clients with technological consultancy projects so they can get answers about their devices or potential developments for rehabilitation and personal autonomy, concentrating on the users’ interactions with them and the effect these items have on their users.
We work with all kinds of devices, from classic solutions such as wheelchairs, walking aids, orthoses, etc. to technological devices such as exoskeletons and tele-rehabilitation systems
With a multidisciplinary team of researchers and designers, we can take part in any phase of a device’s development, providing our know-how in detecting needs, user experience (UX), design, prototyping, modelling, simulation and evaluation of medical devices for rehabilitation and personal autonomy.
Healthcare technology
We provide comprehensive consultancy for the life cycle and design of medical devices, considering:
– All stages of design and development of medical devices, taking into account the patient’s and surgeon’s needs.
– The definition, selection, design and evaluation of new biomaterials (ceramics, metals and polymers to regenerate bony and cartilaginous tissue).
An overall assessment of regulatory aspects of the Medical Device Regulation (MDR), the CE marking and surveillance tasks of the medical device, including:
Strategy: portfolio strategy, adaptation to the MDR and commercialisation of new devices.
CE marking: creation of the technical file for the device, device classification, risk analysis, writing and updating the clinical evaluations, literature searches and creation of states of the art for the device.
Surveillance: post-market surveillance plan, preparation of periodic safety update reports (PSUR).
Occupational healthcare and well-being

Based on our experience and knowledge in this sphere of occupational health and well-being, we carry out consultancy projects with all kinds of organisations, applied to the following key areas:

– Evaluation and redesign of workplaces, adapting the requirements of workplaces to people’s abilities (reincorporation of injured workers, people with disabilities and elderly people).

– Development of ergonomic equipment.

Designing and launching health promotion programmes by diagnosing the staff’s state of well-being, as well as participatory ergonomics programmes.

Children and childcare

At the Instituto de Biomecánica (IBV), we provide customised technological consultancy services for companies in order to identify the most suitable technological innovation to improve their products and services for the child population’s needs.

We understand that fostering healthy growth and development among children is a factor that sets our clients apart. Hence, they need to know, measure, adapt and monitor their products, providing exceptional value.

Children’s footwear, clothing, play areas, playgrounds, furniture and medical devices must be adapted to foster children’s well-being.

In the Instituto de Biomecánica (IBV), we have the necessary knowledge about children’s anthropometry, sizing, materials, shapes, comfort and patterns of motion throughout the different stages of childhood. And above all, we know how to apply this knowledge to advise our clients and foster business innovation based on the child population’s well-being.

Ederly people and ageing

Based on our knowledge acquired about the elderly population and dependent people, at the Instituto de Biomecánica (IBV) we carry out consultancy projects to help companies throughout the process of developing products and services, as of the early stages related to detecting people’s needs and expectations up to the improvements and validation of the end products before they are put on sale.

To do so, we can count on a multidisciplinary team of experts who analyse elderly people’s interaction with products, environments and services, applying agile methods and people-oriented innovation techniques. They also identify aspects that make them suitable for use by elderly people or those in a situation of fragility and dependence, based on the point of view of their functionality, ergonomics, comfort, ease of use, etc.