Ruth works at Ford with tact
That's you, the employee, not a holiday, but a at most once a maintenance, calibration or cleaning needed. Very sensitively she "feels" what we should later notice positively in a vehicle in the interior. Or not, because buttons that do the right thing intuitively with the right touch of a finger are worth gold. Mostly they do not shine.
Haptic is an important element when we sit in a car. Because after driving off should be the view on the road and a push of a button so naturally pleasant to be like the overall driving experience. Buttons, buttons, knobs: Quality and functionality are top priorities as a priority.
But how do you get a general statement, how can you compare haptic A with haptic B?
Ford developed at the research center in Aachen the measuring equipment, which can be seen in the photo. "Robotized Unit for Tactility and Haptics" sounds long and complicated. How about RUTH? In addition, women should also have the certain tact. In that sense ... fits!
What does RUTH do?
RUTH analyzes the ease of movement and precise mobility as well as the comfort of touch of switches, knobs, controls and other interior instruments. Whether a sturdy guide or the flexibility and also the grip: RUTH detects it and outputs measured values. This can be very helpful if you want to develop a "pleasing" vehicle.
By the way, you can also put RUTH in the car! A laborious and time-consuming expansion of parts is spared. Very handy, as the modular design is certainly very common in parts to be examined.
A comparison is certainly exciting, but the output data remains locked up. Ford has earned the development and research progress with research work. Of course, "customer surveys", that is, statements from people regarding the haptic are still part of it, because ultimately the human factor is the benchmark in the first place. The robot depends on the human, not the other way around!
The buying decision of car customers is on the one hand with the costs, but not always exclusively. There are also high demands on the lasting quality and processing, no matter in which vehicle class. RUTH has already sampled the latest generation of Ford Focus and Fiesta models. But not only a conclusive emotional measurement at the end, but also repeatedly during the production process, the quality is checked and thus preserved. I suspect that RUTH still has a few sisters, ... whether they are numbered or carry a second name was unfortunately not revealed to me. ; -)
More reports can be found here:
- Visiting the Ford Research Center in Aachen
- Traveling on a Ford test vehicle ...
- With Ford in the Automobile Future!
- Ford Haptic Robot Ruth
- Ford - Automotive Development with Heart and Blood
- Ford Research Center: With Heart in the Thing .
- Ford Haptics Research
Thank you for inviting us to the Ford Research Center in Aachen