Is Winter Driving Stressing You Out?

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

As Americans fight through the most stressful time of the year, Ford Motor Company and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are embarking on a plan to study driver workload and identify new opportunities to use in-vehicle technologies to improve driver safety by lowering stress.

While holiday shoppers recover from fighting long lines, crowded parking lots and icy roads, Ford and MIT researchers are focusing on how the car can potentially enhance overall human wellness, become an oasis from stressful situations, and increase driver attention and safety.

Studying stress factors
Partnering with MIT's renowned AgeLab, the project will identify specific stress-inducing driving situations, monitor a driver's reaction to the situations using biometrics, and evaluate methods to incorporate new stress-reducing features into the next generation of Ford products. A six-month effort beginning this January will focus on human interaction with a specially equipped 2010 Lincoln MKS, a vehicle already recognized for its advanced safety features.

The goal of this program is to take this one step further by creating the most comfortable driving environment possible so that our driver is always relaxed, calm and able to perform at peak performance.

Ford and MIT – partners in driver wellness
This current undertaking is the next step in an ongoing effort to study and, eventually, significantly improve driver wellness. Since 2004, Ford and MIT’s AgeLab – in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s New England University Transportation Center – have been working to develop vehicle systems that detect the state of a driver at key points in time. This project envisions using this information to adjust systems in the car in ways that reduce driver stress. One of the goals of this work is to help the driver recapture the wellness experience that driving once promised.

By identifying specific situations and the physiological effect they have on the driver, Ford and MIT are seeking solutions that can bring the driver from a heightened stress level back to an optimal operational state and thereby make their commute safer and more comfortable, renewing the positive experience of driving and riding in an automobile.

By monitoring biometrics such as heart rate, skin conductivity and eye movement, researchers at MIT have been working to develop a specific set of parameters for an embedded detection system that could be engineered into future Ford vehicles.

Increasing human-vehicle connectivity through biometrics may provide the next major breakthrough in vehicle safety and lead the development of aware vehicle systems.

Diet, exercise, rest...and a stress-free car
Today’s consumers are seeking every edge they can in the pursuit of a healthier and happier life, including diet, exercise and rest. Ford is committed to introducing in-vehicle technology that minimizes anxiety and actively mitigates stress levels so that the vehicle can serve a beneficial role in a human's life like a healthy diet or regular exercise, and ultimately be part of the total wellness solution.

Ford and MIT expect to conclude this phase of the study in July 2010. Findings of the study will be made public shortly after its conclusion.

Quotes
“We strongly believe that driving can be made safer by reducing the stress load placed on a driver. Through the use of our existing technologies such as Adaptive Cruise Control with Collision Warning or SYNC, our voice-activated communications system, we are proactively guiding drivers away from difficult situations. We have the opportunity to recast the driving experience not as a source of stress, but as a refuge from the daily grind and an opportunity to refresh the driver “
– Jeff Rupp, Ford Manager, Active Safety Research

“Today’s driver is feeling a greater level of anxiety than in the past, both from situations inside and outside the vehicle. This arises in part from the chronic stress in individuals’ daily lives combined with longer commute times, increased driving demands due to traffic congestion and deteriorating infrastructure.”
– Joseph Coughlin, Founder and Director of MIT's AgeLab

Tags: 2010 Lincoln MKS, Ford, Ford Motor Company, Saftey

Posted in Ford Safety - text, Lincoln - text | No Comments »

Do ‘Pregnant’ Computer Models Crave Pickles and Ice Cream?

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

“Pregnant” computer crash test models have it easy – no morning sickness or labor pains or worries about their butts looking too big in those maternity jeans, because they’re always seated. Then again, going through crash simulations over and over again can’t be any fun. At least it serves a worthy purpose.

Ford Motor Company is working with Virginia Tech and Wake Forest University researchers in the development of a computer-aided model that could be used to measure how crash forces affect pregnant women.

The effort builds on 15 years of Ford research that helped lead to one of the first adult whole body computerized crash models. These virtual crash models combine advanced computer simulations and medical research to virtually test how the human body – including the skeletal structure, internal organs and even the brain – are affected by crash forces.

The nearly complete three-year Ford-funded research project is now expected to provide Ford’s safety researchers with important data about pregnant women and their developing babies, such as abdominal shape and tissue properties. The data, collected by the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering, will help in the continuing development of the realistic “pregnant” human body model for virtual crash test simulation.

The human body model advantage
Computerized human body models, which simulate human beings in minute detail, are designed to help safety researchers better understand crash-related injuries. Ford’s research in this area, which has been ongoing for more than 15 years, already has led to the creation of adult models of a seated and standing average-size male. Dr. Jesse Ruan, passive safety expert in Ford’s Research and Engineering, says development of computerized models for other size vehicle occupants is under consideration.

These virtual models simulate regions of the body such as the head, neck, rib cage, abdomen, thoracic and lumbar spine, pelvis, and the upper and lower extremities, as well as the internal organs of the chest and abdomen. The models contain detailed representations of the bones and soft tissues of the human body.

Development of virtual human body models also may lead to the development of more lifelike crash dummies.

Pregnant women and seat belts
Ford also is launching a new effort to continue emphasizing proper seat belt usage to help address the 170,000 car crashes a year in the United States involving pregnant women.

Starting in 2010, owner’s manuals for Ford, Lincoln and Mercury will include an explanation and graphic illustration for how pregnant women should wear seat belts – the No. 1 life-saving auto safety feature.

Pregnant women should always ride and drive with the seatback upright and the seat belt properly fastened. The lap belt, or that portion of a combination lap-and-shoulder belt, should be positioned low across the hips and worn as tight as comfort will allow. The shoulder belt should be positioned to cross the middle of the shoulder and middle of the chest.

Junell Nichols, who teaches trauma and advanced life-support courses to nurses and physicians in Longview, Texas, suggested Ford provide safety recommendations for pregnant women through www.fordnewideas.com – a Web site established to solicit suggestions from the public.

For additional information, see the Safety Advice Card at Fordowner.com.

Quotes
“This is another example of how industry and academia can work together to conduct important safety research.”
– Dr. Stefan Duma, Head of Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering

“Traditional crash dummies are very important, but the computerized human models allow us to see underneath the skin inside the body during a crash. Not all virtual models are the same. We chose to work with Virginia Tech and Wake Forest because we believe they better understand the biomechanics of pregnant women and could translate that into effective computer crash test models.”
– Dr. Stephen Rouhana, Senior Technical Leader, Ford Passive Safety Research and Advanced Engineering

“We developed new methods and techniques for this project in order to collect detailed internal pregnant geometry from MRI and CT scans, including accurate size and location of the uterus, placenta and fetus,”
– Dr. Joel Stitzel, program leader and director of the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University Center for Injury Biomechanics.

Tags: Ford, Ford Motor Company, Pregnant Women, Saftey, seat belt

Posted in Ford Cars - text, Ford Safety - text | No Comments »