Automotive: Chevrolet Safety Event @chevrolet
The day began at General Motor’s Vehicle Engineering Centre, we learned that the engineers use CAD data pulled from specific vehicle production plans. They are able to create ‘stereo’ imagery to assist engineering design in developing solutions prior to the availability of physical properties – Both on Power Wall and in the Cave.
With the fidelity and configurability of today’s math data and the computing power of the modern equipment we are able to create and share realistic life like environments in hours like safety and advanced crash testing simulation. It was incredible to see that the simulations could provide real time results and how powerful their computers were to generate such vivid animations!
When evening fell, we sat down with Torine Creppy, Chief Program Officer, Safe Kids, Kirk Ferris, Kirk Ferris, Director, Driver Programs Division, Michigan Department of State, and John Capp, Global Vehicle Safety to discuss the attitudes and habits of young drivers.
The next day we visited the crash test dummy lab. It is the home to approximately 200 dummies of various sizes and the testing facility that is used to certify the dummies for testing accuracy.
A typical crash test occurs in 150 milliseconds or approximately 1/7 of one second; therefore, we need to ensure all variables are calculated for our crash tests. Because each dummy provides valuable testing data, before it can be used in a crash test, it needs to be certificated using dynamic pendulum and impact tests.
We got a short history lesson of the crash test dummy and it was interesting to find out the the original crash test dummy was designed by General Motors in the 1930s! Fun fact – GM Conducts over 2,000 of these dummy impact test every year.
Next we proceeded to the OnStar National Command Center, which is located in Tower 400 of the Renaissance Center – we were able to see Canada across the Detroit river!
The National command centre is the headquarters of OnStar’s North American operations. In the hallways we saw the companies 18 year history of providing safety, security and connectivity services to customers. Each year had a plaque showcasing the advancements in the OnStar technology. Each year they got better and better.
Behind the large glass doors of the command room, the managers of the Command Center oversee the 185,000+ calls that OnStar receives every day. They make sure the calls are being handled by the appropriate advisors and call centres. With direct access to the OnStar Call Centers, Command Center employees monitor events taking place around the country that could potentially impact OnStar subscribers. There were also news channels on a separate screen that were keeping the managers up-to-date with national events. The Command Center is staffed 24/7/365.
Thank you General Motors for an information filled two days!
