Dearborn, Michigan is the site of Ford’s Visual Performance Evaluation Lab (VPEL), a unique laboratory containing a dazzling array of computer-controlled lights – 270 spotlights and floodlights, powered by 6,000 watts of electricity. In this controlled setting, Ford engineers can simulate any possible lighting condition from the blazing brightness of noon in the desert to the inky black of a backwoods midnight; from the neon-glare of midtown in the rain to a blinding dusk on a westbound highway.
Ford engineers don’t use the VPEL to see how their car looks in all of these different lighting conditions. Rather, they are testing and examining how these different types of light affect the driver’s capabilities and driving experience. They want to learn whether the controls are visible, and how light and glare impact, or even seem to alter, the texture, color and comfort of the interior – even how light may alter the moods of the driver and passengers.
“The VPEL allows us to see how various interior components would work under different sun load conditions, meaning clear sky, overcast sky, dusk or dawn, or artificial light conditions such as how interior components would appear in a dealer showroom,” said Mahendra Dassanayake, a Ford technical lighting specialist. “We want to create a very user-friendly, pleasant environment inside.”
Read entire IMakeNews article here.
Stop by Lakewood Fordland to experience the difference made by innovative design programs such as VPEL.
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