Ford Uses Robots For New Durability Tests

Self-driving cars might soon be hitting the streets — but what about the testing field?

Ford announced its durability testing methods will now employ the help of robotic steering technology. Each new vehicle model will be driven, via robots, through a "stress course" full of curbs, speed bumps and rough concrete — the idea being to subject the cars to 10 years' worth of wear-and-tear damage.

In this case, the vehicles will be entirely bot-controlled — from steering, shifting and pedal working — while operators monitor the progress and collect testing data from a control room far away from the unpleasant conditions. A single operator will be able to track eight of the bots at once