Making their vehicles more comfortable is an on-going commitment for the Ford Motor Company.  They constantly look for ways to improve design to make the ride more enjoyable.  That commitment has led to the world of virtual engineering, where Ford uses motion capture technology to design more sophisticated ergonomics in vehicle interiors.  This is same process used to craft films like “Avatar” and “Shrek”.

The technology of “motion capture” is a process that can record movement digitally.  This system allows video game designers and computer animators to create characters that are not human to move in a more lifelike manner.  Engineers from Ford employ the same technology to develop digital humans that will test vehicles in a virtual world.  At this time, Ford is the only auto manufacturer that takes advantage of this process to improve the comfort quotient.

“Just like in the movies, we hook people up with sensors to understand exactly how they move when they are interacting with their vehicles,” said Gary Strumolo, manager, Ford research and engineering. “Once we have all that motion captured, we create virtual humans that we can use to run thousands of tests that help us understand how people of all sizes and shapes interact with all kinds of vehicle designs. It’s an incredibly efficient way of engineering tomorrow’s vehicles.”

Ford uses the Human Occupant Package Simulator system to study and access body motion.  Sensors are applied to human test subjects who perform a sequence of random movements.  Trajectories of the movements are recorded and plugged into a database that will create digital models.  These models are applied to a variety of virtual designs throughout the Ford lineup.  The motion-capture system assists engineers in determining how people interact with their vehicles.

Before this technology, engineers had to rely on feedback from Ford cars and truck owners which was time consuming and limiting.  In the digital world, Ford can use objective movement measurements to quantify muscular efforts allowing them to design platforms that deliver enhanced comfort.