- Ford is first automaker to develop robotic technology that drives vehicles during new accelerated high-impact on-road and off-road durability testing
- Robotically driven vehicles ideally suited for durability test conditions that could prove too taxing for human drivers
- New technology used to ensure Ford trucks, including the all-new Transit van family, are Built Ford Tough
DEARBORN, Mich., June 15, 2013 – Ford engineers have
developed the industry’s first robotic test driving program – now in use
at the company’s Michigan Proving Grounds in Romeo, Mich. – to meet
demands that Ford trucks undergo ever more strenuous Built Ford Tough
testing with greater frequency.
The pilot program has been used most recently for durability
testing of Ford’s all-new full-size Transit van, which launches in 2014.
“Some of the tests we do on our commercial trucks for North America
are so strenuous that we limit the exposure time for human drivers,”
says Dave Payne, manager, vehicle development operations. “The challenge
is completing testing to meet vehicle development time lines while
keeping our drivers comfortable.
“Robotic testing allows us to do both,” he says. “We accelerate
durability testing while simultaneously increasing the productivity of
our other programs by redeploying drivers to those areas, such as noise
level and vehicle dynamics testing.”
The durability technology includes a robotic control module
installed in the test vehicle that controls vehicle steering,
acceleration and braking. The module is set to follow a preprogrammed
course, and the vehicle’s position is tracked via cameras in a central
control room and GPS accurate to plus/minus one inch. Should the vehicle
stray from its programmed course, engineers have the ability to stop
the vehicle, course correct as necessary, and restart the test. Onboard
sensors can command a full stop if a pedestrian or another vehicle
strays into the path.
The robotically driven vehicles are expected to repeatedly perform
tests on torturous surfaces with names like Silver Creek, Power Hop Hill
and Curb Your Enthusiasm. The tests can compress 10 years of daily
driving abuse into courses just a few hundred yards long, with surfaces
that include broken concrete, cobblestones, metal grates, rough gravel,
mud pits and oversized speed bumps.
All North American Ford trucks must pass this battery of durability
tests before they’re certified for customer use. Until now, testing
speeds and repetitions for specific scenarios were limited due to
restrictions placed on human drivers, who were allowed to drive certain
rigorous courses only once a day.
The use of robots now accelerates this testing, allowing an
unlimited number of repeats until Ford engineers are satisfied with the
results. Robots also allow Ford to develop even more challenging
durability tests to build tougher trucks.
Ford engineers worked with Utah-based Autonomous Solutions Inc. to
design and manufacture the software and components that enable
autonomous, robotic operation of the test vehicle.
“We’re very excited to work with Ford for autonomous vehicle
testing,” said Mel Torrie, CEO of Autonomous Solutions Inc. “The
reliability, durability and performance enhancements we’ve developed
with Ford will not only help them reach their safety and accuracy goals,
but will also improve vehicle automation in other areas such as mining,
agriculture and the U.S. military.”
Ford engineers designed and deployed the robotic technology with
two goals in mind: protecting human drivers and engineering Ford trucks
to be tougher than ever.
“The goal here was not to develop a truly autonomous vehicle that
can drive itself on city streets,” said Payne. “Our objective was to
create a test track solution that allows for this type of intense
testing that could take our vehicles to the most extreme limits of their
engineering while ensuring the safety of all involved.”
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