Volvo Cars' safety expert Anders Axelson knows that brilliant
ideas can pop up in the strangest of circumstances.
A visit to Legoland with his twin daughters in 2007 inspired
Anders to turn an amusement park ride into an efficient test method
in Volvo Cars' quest for better protection in run-off road
crashes.
"Watching people being thrown in all directions during a ride in
the 'Robocoaster', I suddenly realised that those rapid, random
movements resembled the violent forces occupants in a run-off road
crash are exposed to," says Anders Axelson.
Run-off road crashes had been on Anders' mind since 2006, when
Volvo Cars intensified the development of technology to help
protect car occupants in these common and complex scenarios.
Based on real-life accident data, Anders Axelson's team
initiated three complete vehicle crash test track methods, called
'Ditch', 'Airborne' and 'Rough terrain', for evaluating the
consequences of various run-off road scenarios.
Analysing films from a large number of these tests confirmed
that being thrown out of the ideal, firmly strapped-in seat
position correlated well with potential injury-causing mechanisms
seen in real-world crashes.
Searching for a test method
"The engineers developed promising solutions to actively retract
the occupants in order to keep them in position," Anders Axelson
recalls. "But since running complete cars into the terrain is a
time-consuming and expensive test method, we needed a quicker and
cheaper solution to evaluate the ideas."
The stroke of genius conveniently came on a family trip to
Legoland in Denmark. At the time, Anders' twin girls were too small
for the 'Robocoaster', but after watching other kids being shaken
by the robot arm, he realised that the ride had potential beyond
making kids scream with joy.
Back at the office, Anders started searching for a similar robot
that could be programmed to mimic the exact movement patterns that
Volvo Cars had recorded during the complete vehicle run-off road
crash tests.
Unique test rig
"The industrial robot manufacturer ABB had the technology and the
knowledge to programme a machine designed for precision work to
move a car seat around in a seemingly random pattern. It worked
brilliantly," says Anders Axelson.
A vehicle seat and restraint system is mounted on the
multi-axial industrial robot. The robot, which is used together
with a crash test dummy, can be programmed to simulate the occupant
kinematics during crucial parts of run-off road scenarios.
During the development work of the All-New XC90 and upcoming
cars based on the company's new scalable architecture, Volvo Cars'
own 'Robocoaster' has been used to find the combination of safety
belt geometry, rapid belt retraction and seat design that helps
keep the occupant firmly in position in run-off road scenarios.
World-first run-off road safety solution
The result is a world-first run-off road protection package that
includes rapid electrical safety belt retraction as well as unique
'energy-absorbing' functionality in the seat that cushions the
vertical forces that occur in a 'hard landing' in the terrain.
"The most valuable result from the 'Robocoaster' tests is
probably the insight into how well the safety belt retraction
interacts with the enhanced side support in our new seat
generation," says Anders Axelson.
By the way, Anders Axelson never went on the 'Robocoaster' ride
during that visit to Legoland. "No way. Violent rides like that
make me sick," he says with a smile.
Volvo Car Group in 2013
For the 2013 financial year, Volvo Car Group recorded an operating
profit of 1,919 MSEK (66 MSEK in 2012). Revenue over the period
amounted to 122,245 MSEK (124,547 MSEK), while net income amounted
to 960 MSEK (-542 MSEK). Global retail sales for the year amounted
to 427,840 (421,951) cars, an increase of 1.4 per cent compared to
2012. The operating profit was the result of cost control and
strong sales and was further tangible proof of Volvo Car Group's
progress in implementing its transformation plan. For the full year
2014, the company expects to stay in black figures and predicts to
record a global sales increase of close to 10 percent.
About Volvo Car Group
Volvo has been in operation since 1927. Today, Volvo Cars is one of
the most well-known and respected car brands in the world with
sales of 427,000 in 2013 in about 100 countries. Volvo
Cars has been under the ownership of the Zhejiang Geely Holding
(Geely Holding) of China since 2010. It formed part of the Swedish
Volvo Group until 1999, when the company was bought by Ford Motor
Company of the US. In 2010, Volvo Cars was acquired by Geely
Holding.
As of December 2013, Volvo Cars had over 23,000 employees
worldwide. Volvo Cars head office, product development, marketing
and administration functions are mainly located in Gothenburg,
Sweden. Volvo Cars head office for China is located in Shanghai.
The company's main car production plants are located in Gothenburg
(Sweden), Ghent (Belgium) and Chengdu (China), while engines are
manufactured in Skövde (Sweden) and Zhangjiakou
(China) and body components in Olofström
(Sweden).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
Oliver Peagam
Marketing & Communications Director, Volvo Car Australia
T: +61 2 9020 1613
M: +61 408 691 017
E: oliver.peagam@volvocars.com
volvocars.com.au