Johnson Controls Launches Advanced Comfort Center
28 July 1998
Johnson Controls Launches Advanced Comfort Center To Develop and Enhance Future Automotive InteriorsNew comfort center, driving simulator
are 'industry firsts' among suppliers
PLYMOUTH, Mich., July 28 -- Look for automotive interiors to
become a lot more comfortable in the years ahead. That's because vehicle
interior supplier Johnson Controls has launched a $3.5 million, state-of-the-
art comfort engineering center at its Plymouth, Michigan technical center.
Featuring the most advanced technologies for researching interior comfort --
and designing products to optimize it -- the facility is the first of its kind
among automotive suppliers worldwide.
"As an industry leader, it's imperative for us to target comfort," said
John Barth, executive vice president for Johnson Controls. "Interior comfort
is a top priority among car-buyers -- one that differentiates vehicles,
affects purchase decisions and strongly influences overall consumer
satisfaction."
The 3,200-square-foot center includes innovative tools for measuring and
enhancing comfort in vehicle interior systems. It is staffed by 12 full-time
professionals, including eight engineers and four technicians. The unit's
personnel currently are working on approximately 30 interior programs for
vehicles that are under development.
The focal point of Johnson Controls' new comfort center is a driving
simulator that replicates the sights, sounds, forces and vibrations that
drivers and passengers experience under all possible road, traffic and weather
conditions. A driver and passengers -- seated in a prototype vehicle interior
-- take a "virtual" ride while engineers monitor and record their experience.
"Pilots in training use flight simulators," said Kuntal Thakurta, manager
of the Johnson Controls comfort center. "Applying a similar approach in a
scientifically controlled environment, engineers creating the automotive
interiors of the future can use our high-tech driving simulator," said
Thakurta.
The simulator has four key elements:
* A six-axis, hydraulic shaker table. This device replicates over-the-road
motions and vibrations. Its "repertoire" includes simulated potholes.
* A vehicle cabin with two rows of seating from a small car, medium-sized
car, or sport-utility vehicle. The seats, instrument panel and other features
are "reconfigurable." Steering and braking sensations are provided.
* A wrap-around, audio/video projection system, that includes a rear-view
screen. Cabin occupants are provided with an accurate, full-motion image of
the virtual highway, other vehicles and passing scenery -- as well as sound
generated by the road, wind, tire and engine.
* A computer-controlled integration system. This system links all parts of
the riding experience -- everything that is felt, seen and heard -- to create
an accurate reality that can be measured and replicated.
An array of other leading-edge technologies -- all based on advanced
computer systems and programs -- are used at the new comfort center.
Modeling software enables designers to analyze prototype seat designs on a
computer screen. Electronic mannequins -- including a family of three-
dimensional, computer-generated models developed by Johnson Controls and
Michigan State University -- replicate the shape, size and movements of human
bodies. A motion analysis system tracks and measures occupant motion and
movement in vehicle seats. And "pressure mapping" technology enables engineers
-- using special sensor-equipped pads -- to measure how a vehicle seat
supports a person's back, buttocks and legs during a "real-world" car ride.
Since entering the automotive interiors business in the 1980s, Johnson
Controls always has paid attention to comfort, said Thakurta. "Designing-in
comfort, convenience and good ergonomic function for our products has been a
long-standing practice," he said. "But our new comfort center -- and the
extensive technology and research we're applying -- represent a quantum leap
for the automotive industry."
Thakurta says the comfort facility will benefit the people who buy cars as
well as the companies that build them. "The comfort center will help us create
highly marketable interior systems and accelerate product development cycles."
Johnson Controls, Inc. , with headquarters in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, USA, is a global market leader in automotive systems and building
controls. Founded in 1885, Johnson Controls had sales of US$11.1 billion in
1997 and operates in more than 500 locations around the world. See
http://www.johnsoncontrols.com for more information.
The Plymouth, Michigan-based Automotive Systems Group of Johnson Controls
is one of the world's largest suppliers of vehicle interior systems, and is a
major supplier of batteries. In 1998, the company's worldwide operations will
supply interior products for more than 22 million vehicles. The Automotive
Systems Group employs more than 53,500 people at 208 facilities worldwide and
achieved $8 billion in sales for the 1997 fiscal year.
