MANILA, Philippines, 28 October, 2011- Ford Philippines gathered hundreds of Ford Fiesta
owners, Facebook fans, Ford Club Philippines members and loyal customers at the first-of-its
kind Anniversary celebration. As Ford Fiesta celebrated its 1-Year Anniversary, guests were
treated to live entertainment from guest local bands with live broadcast and DJs from 99.5RT.
The All-New Fiesta is the best-selling nameplate in Ford with 2,638 units sold in 2011. The
event highlighted numerous giveaways from Ford Fiesta Anniversary sponsors: 3M Car Care,
99.5 RT, Acer, Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Concept One, DC, Jollibee, Venue Partner MC
Home Depot, Papa John's, Pilipinas Shell and Tuason Racing School.
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2:35 PM by
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Steve Rouhana points out one of the intricacies of Ford's adult digital human model to researcher Jesse Ruan. Rouhana is the Senior Technical Leader for Safety, Ford Research and Advanced Engineering.
DEARBORN, Mich., April 18, 2011 - Ford is beginning research into one of the world’s first digital human child body models that could someday serve as a digital dummy for computer crash testing with a goal of enhancing research of future safety technologies.
“We study injury trends in the field, and we know that traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for people from age 1 to 34,” said Dr. Steve Rouhana, Senior Technical Leader for Safety, Ford Research and Advanced Engineering. “We want to better understand how injuries to younger occupants may be different.”
The work is the next step in Ford’s decade-long research to build a sophisticated and detailed computer adult human model, with body parts and organs painstakingly replicated so scientists could better understand what happens to the adult body in a crash.
“Our restraint systems are developed to help reduce serious injuries and fatalities in the field, and they have proven to be very effective,” Rouhana said. “But crash injuries still occur. The more you know about the human body, the more we can consider how to make our restraint systems even better.
“A child’s body is very different from an adult’s. Building a digital human model of a child will help us design future systems that offer better protection for our young passengers.”
Working in the digital world
Building a digital model is no simple task. The work on Ford’s adult human body model that started back in 1993 was not completed until 2004 and only then after extensive validations. Digital models are used in research, not in vehicle development. They don’t take the place of crash dummies, which measure the effect of forces on the body. Instead, they are used as
a way to understand how to further improve restraint system effectiveness through better understanding of injury mechanisms.
The digital model is constructed component by component – brain, skull, neck, ribcage, upper and lower extremities, etc. – with extensive research included on each part.
“Building the model of a person is just like building a model of a car,” said Rouhana. “You start with your surface geometry for each component and any subcomponent it contains – in this case the geometry of the human body and its internal organs.”
After gathering such data through medical scans as well as anatomical texts, the researchers build a model section by section, creating regions of the body. The brain in Ford’s adult human digital model was constructed as a separate component, detailed down to the stem, the gray matter and the fluid between the layers, said Dr. Jesse Ruan, a researcher in biomechanics at Ford.
The components are then joined into a virtual human body, which is extensively validated. Then, using mathematical and analytical tools combined with available body data, researchers are able to determine the effects of a crash – and the pressure of a restraint system – on the body.
Child data, however, are not as extensively available. Ford researchers, leveraging their global contacts, contracted into a one-year agreement with Tianjin University of Science and Technology, which is working with Tianjin Children’s Hospital, to obtain child geometry and basic body information from sources like MRIs and CAT scans provided by volunteers. Tianjin is one of the largest cities in China, close to the capital of Beijing. All other information for the project will be obtained from public domain literature.
“This is just the beginning,” said Ruan. “We’re taking the first step toward building a future child digital human body model.”
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The Laus Auto Group (LAG), one of the biggest auto dealership networks in the country, is set to open a Ford outlet in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, bringing Ford vehicles closer to residents, businesses, and over 1,000 locators in the area.
A landmark business venture for the LAG, the outlet will be the first local car dealership inside the economic zone.
“We are grateful for the support of our partners like the Laus Auto Group for making available to our consumers Ford’s high quality and fuel efficient vehicles. We appreciate their invaluable contribution to the continued growth of Ford’s operations in the Philippines,” said Ford Group Philippines President Richard Baker.
Ford Subic (West Coast Automotive), set to open by the end of the year, will be situated on a 1,175 square-meter lot along Argonaut Road and J.P. Rizal Highway in the Subic Freeport. It boasts of a five-car showroom and eight service bays, with provision for a second level that can hold eight more service bays. The choice of Subic for the new Ford dealership is strategic, given that it is a modern, globally competitive, and commercially viable location for various businesses.
“Ford Subic is part of our expansion program to service the growing requirements of customers in the western part of Luzon. We are certainly proud to be part of over 1,000 locators in Subic who will help contribute to the business and economic growth in the area,” said LAG chairman and founder Levy Laus.
Laus, who has been a Ford franchise holder since the early 80’s, said the establishment of Ford dealership in Subic indicates sustained confidence in the future of Ford in the Philippines. Ford Subic is scheduled for opening before the end of 2009.
The Laus Auto Group currently has Ford dealerships in Libis, Quezon City; San Fernando, Pampanga; Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija; and Dagupan, Pangasinan.
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