FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DETROIT, MICHIGAN—November 7, 2012. A major automotive OEM performed a successful automated rollover test using Proving Ground Automation’s (PGA) vehicle automation kit. Many facets of durability testing are difficult to accomplish when accounting for driver safety, one of those being destructive rollover testing. OEM testers have devised a variety of ways to simulate a vehicle rollover, but most solutions are highly expensive and do not give researchers an authentic rollover scenario to derive data from.
“Whether using an automated skid, outriggers, ramps, or slow speed rolls, testers aren’t getting what they need to appropriately test vehicles,” said Mel Torrie, CEO of Autonomous Solutions, Inc., parent company of PGA. “They’re doing the best they can, but for an authentic rollover, you need a driver. It’s just too difficult and too dangerous to effectively simulate a rollover and keep a human driver safe at the same time.” Torrie explains that PGA’s vehicle automation kit (VAK) has the capability to mimic the movements of a human driver to a degree never before possible. With the help of the VAK, durability testers can perform authentic rollover scenarios.
“The beauty of the VAK is that testers can perform rollover tests at very precise speeds and angles,” said Torrie. “The rugged design of the VAK protects the unit so testers can also move it from one vehicle to the next and start another round of testing. It makes destructive rollover testing surprisingly repeatable and very affordable.”
With the success of this first rollover test, the OEM is now in the process of refitting the VAK to another vehicle for additional testing. “[The major OEM] is very pleased with the results of this round of rollover testing,” said Eric Budd, Sales Manager for PGA. “The implication of this successful test is that researchers will be able to provide more accurate data to manufacturers that will be used to keep consumers safer. This is very exciting! We look forward to more successful tests in the near future.”
About Proving Ground Automation
PGA is a world leader in autonomous vehicle durability and endurance testing. From their headquarters in northern Utah headquarters, PGA serves proving ground customers in automotive, military, agriculture, and industrial markets with a rugged, versatile automation kit, robust command and control software, and site efficiency software solutions. PGA’s parent company Autonomous Solutions, Inc. is a world leader in autonomous vehicle technology and has automated more than 60 different vehicle platforms with hundreds of vehicles fielded with Fortune 500 companies and major OEMs.
