Better watch out, Kim Kardashian and that guy from the MoneySupermarket ad, your butts are on the line now that Ford has developed a robotic arse, delightfully called the Robutt.
We can snigger all we like at the general hilarity (recorded for posterity, of course) but this mechanical fundament does have a serious purpose.
Robutt is designed to mimic the shape, pressure points, and movements of an actual human backside, and it allows designers to create better, more supportive, more comfortable seats.
“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. “Previously, we used pneumatic cylinders that simply moved up and down. With the Robutt, we are now able to replicate very accurately how people really behave.”
Based on an average-sized large man, the Robutt was used to simulate ten years of driving in just three weeks as part of testing for the new Fiesta – sitting down and getting up 25,000 times. The new test is now being rolled out for all Ford vehicles in Europe. Hopefully, this is the end. Of numb-bum on long journeys, we mean. It should certainly mean more comfort for your back, side and other areas. It should also mean that Ford’s crack engineers have come up with a solution to rear-end accidents. (That’s enough arse gags. Ed.)