Stop by a Ford dealer, and you’ll find an array of brilliantly designed vehicles. From powerful pickup trucks to eco-friendly sedans to family-oriented SUVs and everything in between. Beyond your local Ford dealer, you’ll see more Ford vehicles in video games than any other brand out there.
Not only is Ford dedicated to ensuring that their vehicles are represented accurately in video games, but they also use lessons learned from gaming to help improve their workflow, gather invaluable feedback, and encourage collaboration over great distances.
Here’s how Ford is utilizing gaming tech to build better vehicles to display at your local Ford dealer:
Feedback From Virtual Customer Clinics
Ford has taken the test phase of its new systems and vehicle designs into the virtual world. Participants essentially play a game or virtual simulation while Ford collects and analyzes data from the experience.
For example, in one clinic, Ford wanted to see if drivers prefer pressing the automated parking button and holding it or just pressing it a single time. The game had drivers participate in several parking situations. The results showed that 88% preferred pressing the button once, which might lead to changes in Ford’s Active Park Assist.
The possibilities are practically limitless, as Ford can gather data from various markets, demographics, and ages in practically any situation engineers can imagine. The end results include vehicles and systems that are more in tune with what drivers want.
Collaboration At Its Finest
There’s no question that the pandemic has impacted the ability for teamwork, whether from social distancing or travel restrictions. Ford installed massive LED screens at its design studio in Cologne, Germany, to combat teams’ limited ability to get together.
These Powerwalls can show a vehicle’s actual size. Design teams from around the world can collaborate together in real-time to analyze the vehicle. They can provide feedback and even make changes to the vehicle in real-time via video conferencing and virtual reality. It’s much like esports teams work together to achieve a common goal.
Gamers Join The Team
One of the more interesting projects worth mentioning is the Team Fordzilla P1. This virtual gaming race car was designed in part by nearly a quarter-of-a-million esports fans. The P1 project led to inviting Ford fans to help with the Puma ST Gold Edition. There were almost 275,000 votes cast to help with things like paint combinations, decals, brake calipers, and the vehicle’s name.
Ford is now looking to work with gamers to create a new Supervan that will replace the Ford Transit with a more extreme model. It’s only a matter of time before actual drivers collaborate with Ford engineers to build the perfect vehicles.
There’s something exciting about working with gamers and Ford fans to improve Ford designs. Thankfully, gaming technology has made gathering real feedback and collaborating more possible today than ever before.
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