In
today's blog, I thought we'd discuss an emerging automotive technology that
will do those of us living in Michigan a world of good - pothole mitigation
systems.
Technology - Pothole Mitigation System
Organization - Ford Motor Company
Description - From a high level, Ford's Pothole Mitigation System:
Uses signals from 12 high-resolution sensors, the car’s
onboard computer is able to analyze when the edge of a pothole has been
detected. In milliseconds, it adjusts the dampers to their stiffest setting,
preventing the wheel from sinking as far into the pothole and taking as brutal
a hit as it normally would. The computer is then able to prepare the rear
suspension to react to the pothole even faster (Schreiber, 2017).
Source: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2016/02/ford-uses-continuously-controlled-damping-take-shock-damage-potholes/
Development of the Concept – The pothole
mitigation system was an idea that came about as an extension of our existing Continuously
Controlled Dampening System (CCDS). The original CCDS has been available for a
few years in Ford vehicles (and for several years in luxury cars.) The premise
of a CCDS is to provide the driver a choice of computer controlled suspension
settings that can be selected depending on driving conditions. If you own a
Lincoln, Ford Expedition, or Ford Explorer – you may be able to select from
several different ride settings – including Sport, Comfort, and Normal. Each
setting will instantly change the driving characteristics of the car to to
suite different needs.
The new Pothole Mitigation System is an elaboration of
this concept – except the computer does all the work. Using petabytes of data
gathered by Ford’s Data Analytics team (that’s my team) working in tandem with
our engineers, we were able to develop programming for the CCDS that allows the
computer to work with the vehicles on-board sensor systems to automatically
detect and prepare for potholes.
This technology will be available on the upcoming 2017
Ford Fusion Sport – set to launch shortly.
Testing/Validation – While I
cannot dive too deeply into our testing and validation processes, I can say
that we completed extensive testing using simulated potholed roads at our test
track in Dearborn. We also worked with engineers at our facilities in Belgium
to further develop the technology for the EU.
Of course, there is no better test case then a Michigan
road for Pothole Mitigation technology – so much of our real world tests are
conducted on some of Michigan’s worst roads.
In this article from WDIV (Local 4) you can see some of
the roads we used for testing (and why). http://www.clickondetroit.com/traffic/tracking-worst-potholes-in-se-michigan-canton-center-road-hall-road-mound-road-merriman-road
Resource Acquisition and Utilization – This particular
project worked the way many do across Ford – leveraging internal teams to
release something that will provide value to our customers. In this case, some
of those teams include: suspension engineering, quality, Road and Track, and of
course, Data Analytics.
As the system is an extension of an existing technology,
it was developed completely internally at a cost I cannot disclose.
The technology will be deployed to our entire lineup
throughout the next couple of years.
Discovery Process – Primarily,
my discovery process for this assignment was observation and participation – as
my team participated in the foundational development of this system. This
project has been an ongoing at Ford.
However, in order to provide the class with additional resources
and details that they could further explore, some Internet resources were also
included.
Web 2.0 Tool – As you
can hopefully see, I selected Google Blogger as my Web 2.0 Tool of
choice for this assignment. Luckily, it is as easy as “point and click” to use –
so I don’t believe an instruction sheet is necessary.
Why did I select this tool? It’s easy to use, accessible
to everyone, and isn’t just a video tool.
Digital Site Repository – The link
to this blog will be posted in available in three locations:
1.) Under the Assignment Submission in BB.
2.) In the dedicated BB Discussion Post for this assignment.
3.) Sent via class-wide email
One Video (It Just Felt Right :-)
As this class loves videos, I couldn't resist adding just one to demonstrate how the system will work:
References:
Bartkowiak Jr., D. (2017). At a glance: SE Michigan's worst roads for potholes. WDIV. Retrieved 2 April 2017, from http://www.clickondetroit.com/traffic/at-a-glance-se-michigans-worst-roads-for-potholes
Batrkowiak Jr., D. (2017). Tracking worst potholes in SE Michigan: Canton Center Road, Hall Road, Mound Road, Merriman Road. WDIV. Retrieved 2 April 2017, from http://www.clickondetroit.com/traffic/tracking-worst-potholes-in-se-michigan-canton-center-road-hall-road-mound-road-merriman-road
Schreiber, R. (2017). Ford Develops Suspension Tech to Reduce Pothole Damage. The Truth About Cars. Retrieved 2 April 2017, from http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2016/02/ford-uses-continuously-controlled-damping-take-shock-damage-potholes/
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2016/02/ford-uses-continuously-controlled-damping-take-shock-damage-potholes/
No comments:
Post a Comment