Ford Motor Company is using a pair of specially-designed suits to better engineer vehicles for various drivers and passengers. These “empathy suits” mimic what’s it like to be both pregnant and elderly to help Ford engineers build vehicles that are comfortable and safe for various demographics.
The suits are designed to help Ford engineers empathize with what customers have to go through on a day-to-day basis, allowing vehicles to be improved to accommodate all customers.
Ford Human Factors Engineer Katie Allanson says that the suits help provide different perspectives during the engineering process.
“Most of our engineers come to Ford right out of college,” she said. “They’ve never had to think of anyone using a car other than themselves.”
The Third Age Suit simulates what it’s like to be 20-40 years older, according to Allanson. This is done by limiting mobility in different joints through knee and elbow braces, a motorized glove that mimics hand tremors, earmuffs imitate hearing loss and goggles that give a sense of what glaucoma it’s like to suffer from glaucoma.
According to a partnered content article between Ford and Time Magazine, every engineer in Allanson’s department spends a period of time testing out the suits to gain a better understanding of the challenges that customers face.
“Walking in someone else’s shoes, it changes their perspective. And if the only perspective you know is your own then that’s what you’re going to design to,” she said in a series of videos detailing the suits. “By having the experience of wearing these suits you’re really opening up their mind to something different, and hopefully you’re making an impact.”