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Ford Motor Company 'TechLab' to Highlight the Future of Automotive Safety

5 January 2001

Ford Motor Company 'TechLab' to Highlight the Future of Automotive Safety 
    DETROIT, Jan. 5 First came safety belts, then air bags and
dozens of other safety innovations.  But what lies around the corner when it
comes to automotive safety?
    Show-goers at this year's North American International Auto Show in
Detroit will have a unique way of finding out when they visit Ford Motor
Company's new technology display.
    Fifteen interactive displays looking into the future of safety, and
powertrains, will be found on Ford's upper level -- renamed the "TechLab."
These displays will demonstrate the individually crafted driving experience
made possible by future technologies.
    "We want people to really understand all the possibilities that lie
ahead," said Helen Petrauskas, Ford vice president of Environmental & Safety
Engineering.  "That's why this year we're creating an 'experience' that our
customers and their families really need to participate in themselves."
    Technologies they'll find that are designed to tailor the driving
experience include:

    *  Human Scanner:  A laser scanner instantly captures valuable data about
the size and shape of the people who buy Ford Motor Company vehicles.  This
will help designers and engineers when crafting new vehicles and new
technologies.  Auto show guests are scanned, and receive a 3-D printout of
themselves.  They also receive a card encoded with their information, to use
in other displays.
    *  Super-adjustability:  The information captured by the scanner could be
programmed into a vehicle to remember the driver's exact preferences for
maximum comfort.  For example, Volvo's EyeCar technology adjusts to bring
every driver's eyes to the exact same position within the vehicle, and then
fits the rest of the vehicle around the driver.  Guests at the display will
experience this for themselves.
    *  Dynamic Position Sensing:  With advanced sensors the position of front
seat occupants would constantly be monitored, leading to potential innovations
in passenger protection.  When guests change position in this display, a read-
out screen shows whether an air bag would be deployed for that position.
    *  Four-point Safety Belts:  Using their personalized information,
visitors will be able to vote on possible new seat belt designs:  the center-
buckle V-4 design, or the Crisscross X-4 design.
    *  Inflatable Safety Belts:  Guests to this display will experience a new
kind of safety belt which inflates much like an air bag during a crash, and
rate its features for Ford designers and engineers.
    *  CamCar:  Tiny pencil-eraser sized cameras are strategically placed to
broaden the scope of the driver.  Guests will view the new expanded viewpoint
of drivers provided by the cameras.  Bottom line -- no more blind spots
anywhere around a vehicle.
    *  Pre-crash Sensing:  Technology reacts faster than humans, which is
crucial when facing a possible accident.  Show-goers can see for themselves
just how fast a sensor can react to a potential crash situation by jumping off
a launch pad onto a crash pad.
    *  RescueCar:  Post-crash signaling technology relays vital passenger and
crash information to a Response Center, immediately after an accident.  Guests
view the information provided to the Response Center, including a GPS screen,
and a camera view of the vehicle occupants.
    *  Boostabout:  Ford Motor Company's Boost America! campaign is educating
families about the importance of using the right child safety measures at all
ages, especially increasing booster seat use for children ages 4 to 8.  The
BoostAbout, a merry-go-round with a booster seat, infant seat and toddler
seat, gives kids a chance to learn for themselves what traveling safely is all
about.  Young guests step up to a ruler to measure their height, and then take
a seat in the corresponding safety seat on the BoostAbout.  Riders are buckled
in and go for a spin.
    *  Powertrain:  Guests can listen to different motor sounds and choose
which is most pleasing for different types of vehicles.

    Ford Motor Company scientists and engineers will be on site at the TechLab
throughout the Auto Show.  As noted, show attendees will actually be asked to
participate in two separate kinds of research for the company -- advanced
safety belts and powertrains.