Baby boomers have influenced the way of the world for more than 50 years, and our ergonomics team is leveraging new tools and developing new product designs with their ease of use, safety and comfort in mind.
Ergonomics is the scientific discipline concerned with understanding interactions between humans and other elements. At Ford, it's about modifying vehicle equipment to be usable and intuitive.
Lose the Manual
When a customer gets into a Ford vehicle for the first time, we want them to be able to operate all of the features comfortably, without needing to refer to the owner's manual. We want to make controls—everything from adjustable pedals to setting clocks—as intuitive and easy to use as possible.
Suiting Up to Feel Older
Ford is the only automotive manufacturer leveraging a "third-age suit" to give younger engineers and designers a feel for the needs of the elderly.
The third-age suit is made of materials that add bulk and restrict movement at key areas of the body (e.g., knees, elbows, back and neck). The suit also uses gloves that reduce the sense of touch and goggles that simulate cataracts. The suit doesn't necessarily simulate a specific condition, such as arthritis, but it does help simulate real-life customer scenarios, such as where someone can't comfortably bend his elbow to grasp the door handle or can't easily look over his shoulder when changing lanes.
Through use of the third-age suit, our engineers can understand what it's like to be in the shoes of this demographic. Our design decisions, therefore, become much more in-line with customer needs.
The suit has also caught the attention of aircraft manufacturers. As part of its alliance with Boeing, Ford and Boeing engineers are researching ways to provide more user-friendly interiors for automobiles and airplanes.
The Empathy Belly
Another suit, the "empathy belly," helps engineers understand the needs and potential restrictions of pregnant women. This suit includes a strap that engineers put on their chest (simulating shortness of breath) and a water belly/lead weights (which put pressure on the belly and give the wearer the outward appearance of being pregnant). Once on, the engineer starts to feel several pregnancy symptoms and, in a matter of a few minutes, he or she is 33 pounds heavier and nine-months pregnant.
Both these suits are key components of our design and ergonomics processes, with the goal of creating vehicles that provide ease of use for any type of customer.
Keeping It Simple To Keep You Safer
With increased customer demand for in-vehicle technologies, such as navigation and hands-free systems, proper ergonomics plays a role in keeping you safe on the road.
To limit the distraction of new in-vehicle technologies, our ergonomics team conducts extensive usability testing before adding new systems. In the 2006 Ford Explorer, for example, the ergonomics team conducted two years of usability testing. These tests included pen and paper testing — showing potential customers screen shots of how the control would operate — as well as building prototypes to determine the best way to make the system safe and easy to use.