Ford Using Hollywood Avatar Technology for Global Expansion

While this isn’t the first we hear that Ford is using similar technologies as those used for James Cameron's blockbuster movie Avatar, this time the data differs. The company not only uses the technology to better design its cars, but has also created a new Hollywood-inspired digital worker that is building the first cars there to help ensure ergonomically safe workplaces and quality-built vehicles.

The new avatar was created using size and shape population data gathered from Ford assembly plants across the globe. By customizing these data, Ford researchers have created a manikin used in ergonomic assessments that employ motion-capture technology, the same type of technology used in movies such as “Mars Needs Moms” or in games such as “Mortal Kombat.”

“We combine Hollywood’s motion-capture technology with human modeling software in our Detroit labs to design jobs in Asia and around the world that are less physically stressful on workers. We adjusted the sizes of our Jack and Jill models to reflect the populations at our global plants so all our regions can benefit from what we’ve learned,” said Allison Stephens, Ford ergonomics specialist with Vehicle Operations Manufacturing Engineering.

The digital manikin’s first global assignments are for new products planned for new assembly plants in China, the new Focus being assembled in Germany and the U.S., and the global Ranger being built in Thailand and South Africa. The standardized manikins can then be customized to the regional Ford population that is building a specific vehicle.

“If we do ergonomic studies for those places, we can simply send them the files and they can watch the studies in 3D; they won’t have to go to the expense of building their own motion-capture labs,” said Stephens.