Ford to use balloons to test safety systems
February 11, 2009 by Karl Peskett
First it was cadavers. Next, live pigs. Shortly after that, crash test dummies. Now, the latest advance is safety testing is…balloons?
Yes, the images you see here are in fact of a car shaped balloon, which is helping Ford engineers with refining their timing on crash avoidance systems.
Prototypes are driven into the windbags, allowing researchers to document how late, or early, warning chimes should sound.
The system, to be introduced on the 2010 Ford Taurus, is called – wait for it – Adaptive Cruise Control with Collision Warning with Brake Support technology. Phew, what a mouthful.
It continuously monitors the area in front of the car with a radar, and if it senses a crash, will warn the driver. If the driver doesn’t react quick enough, it readies the brakes for a more immediate reaction.
But how do you test that you’ve set the timing right, without actually crashing the car? A car-shaped balloon of course.
The tarp material is filled with air, and allows a hit without the associated damage. Sure US$10,000 seems alot, but they don’t bust on the first impact, meaning they can be used over and over. They’re also available in different sizes.
It sure is cheaper than actually repairing the damage on a real car.
“The first few times you drive into the balloon, it’s scary,” Ford Engineer and test driver Mike Lopez said. “You are deliberately driving straight into a stationary object that looks like a car, and it’s against every intuition you’ve developed since you started driving.”
“With the balloon, there’s no deceleration in the vehicle upon impact – in other words, you’re not thrown forward at all. It’s a good way to observe what’s happening at the instant before the impact,” Lopez said. “The shocking experience is when you deliberately distract someone and wait for a warning to go off before they look up and apply the brakes. It is usually surprising how fast the impact comes after being distracted. It’s a real eye-opener.”
Running after the balloons on windy days has also been reported…
Print it: 
Just call it ACCWBST for short. Surely the front sensors will have to be able to recognize more than just a car. What about different shapes? I know a great clown that could do giraffes, sausage dogs, you name it.
Quote “Just call it ACCWBST for short.hahaha I thinking the same thing.
An airbag on the outside of a car ? Is it just me or does 10k sound like an awful lot of money for a balloon ?
I actually reckon that it’s not a bad idea, and as the speaker says, it’s quite scary when someone distracts you before the warning goes off… can se real befeits in that sort of thing with driver training! Just show the new drivers how quickly things can happen.
MT I reckon you’d know a lot of clowns given where you used to work ;-)
Didn’t Lexus come up with a radar guided cruise control? If you got to close it applied the brake. Maybe instead of just a warning light/sound the car starts to break.
Frontman, This is not fair, i couldn’t sleep last night trying to work out who you are. Can I have another clue? I fear a total mental breakdown if I can’t work it out.
Lexus didn’t come up with the system, Mercedes, Volvo and VW have been playing with this for ages, except this system will combine the benefits of Radar Cruise and Volvo’s collision avoidance systems. In the early eighties Ford US was playing caterpila lines across the US with radar guided systems in a line of 5 or more cars.
Salesman, no! no clues, no give aways. Next time I’m up your way I will drop in. I actually had more to do with GH & JW than I did with you, but we have run into each other since them. It’s not really that important though ;-)
Just a bit off subject. Whats the car in the picture?
Looks like they stole a Honda Accord and asked Pontiac to design a grill for them.
With a car that ugly, I can see why Ford are going broke. I’d rather buy the balloon car, it looks better.
Vehicle is Lincoln 2010 MKS. Actually looks good in the flesh and better in any other colour than that!!!!!
That balloon looks better than some cars I can think of. Especially the BMW X6.
Frontman is right,
Lexus was the latest one to steal a headline with braking cruise control, but before that merc had been playing with it for ages.
I still dont know why its not a mainstream feature yet since the tech has been on the books for so long.
perhaps the lack of rear enders would do panel beaters out of business?? ha ha ha
what happens when the balloon takes off in the wind as the car is approaching with a distracted driver, and someone comes running out to catch the balloon???
oooopppsss, sorry mate
“TAKE THAT” you shitty Camry!!!!
You must be kidding me.
crash avoidance systems are for idiots not paying attention.
get off your mobile phones and mp3s and concentrate and what your doing.
I will concede, radar cruise would be useful on country roads though.
As for future tailgaters, I imagine the warning chimes would be on from the moment they leave their driveways……….
^^Actually captain, ford should use bmw X6s instead of the balloons just to keep the fugly things off the road.