Ford tests a special suit for the workers at its Valencia factory

A special suit with body-tracking technology will allow the workers at the Ford engine plant in Valencia to improve their ergonomics.

The sports tracking technology that professional athletes use to perfect their technique, or that software companies use to develop video games, is making its way into the automotive industry thanks to Ford. Employees at the Ford plant in Almussafes (Valencia), where production of the new Ford Transit Connect and the 2.0 EcoBoost Duratec engine has recently begun, are testing a special suit fitted with sensors to help them maintain good ergonomic posture.

This special suit, equipped with body-tracking technology, is the result of the joint work carried out by Ford and the Valencia Institute of Biomechanics. For the trials, 70 assembly line employees were involved.

How the Ford tracking suit works

The idea is to use the technology that allows coaches to improve athletes’ performance to design workstations that make operators’ jobs easier, thereby reducing physical strain and improving manufacturing quality. A special suit that features 15 tracking sensors connected to a wireless detection unit records the movements the worker makes during the working day, focusing especially on the head, neck, shoulders and limbs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmDXskVICtg

Four video cameras capture the images in 3D to create an animation that allows ergonomics specialists to design workstations or modify existing ones, so that they fit as closely as possible the movements workers have to perform.