Ford has taken its legacy to the future with the entry of 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E. Though the car shares its name and styling from the legendary Mustang, the crossover is completely electric. Everything, from the platform to the powertrain, has been futuristically and newly designed by the company. So the hefty task that comes into the scenario is making sure that the company’s mechanics are well aware of the upcoming crossover.
Rather than shipping mechanics and a number of Mach-Es to its various training centers, Ford has come up with a smart solution. It will make use of Bosch’s Virtual Reality technology to train its technicians. This smart idea not only minimizes the cost but also saves much time and gives the technicians a new and interactive digital way to get well known to the vehicle. Making use of VR technology, trainees will be able to learn everything about the main battery pack. Through Bosch’s support, the company also aims to develop a game like software extensions that will help the technicians to practically explore Mach-Es different modules. This forward-thinking solution is much more advanced as the mechanics would be able to explore Mach-E theoretically from anywhere in the world with the help of just an Oculus Quest VR headset.
Director of the company’s service engineering operations, Dave Johnson was quoted saying” This new training tool allows the technicians to understand the components and steps required to service these high voltage systems, then confidently perform diagnostics and maintenance.” The crossover makes use of either 75.7 kWh or 98.8 kWh battery with an expected driving range of about 300 miles and about 459 hp and 612 lb-ft of torque depending on the version.
Bosch had developed this training solution in 2019 and Ford is the first automaker to use this technology in training the technicians. This technology could also be applied to other models in the future.