(October 27, 2017) COLOGNE, Germany — A robot has been created by Ford to move like a human bottom and perfectly simulate how drivers and passengers get in and out of their car seats. Engineers used pressure maps to establish a “perch pattern," the data enabling them to test the wear and tear of materials using the robotic bottom — or “Robutt” — to mimic the most common paths.
“From the first moment we get into a car, the seat creates an impression of comfort and quality,” said Svenja Froehlich, a durability engineer, at Ford’s European HQ, in Cologne, Germany.