What images come to mind when you think of the words car test driver? Probably images like you see on some popular TV shows of guys inducing power-on-oversteer on closed runways, or taking cars around test tracks to see if their theoretical top speed matches their actual capability.

The truth is that often vehicle testing is much less glamorous. Many of the tests that new vehicles must undergo are nothing like you’ll find on a TV show. Riding over curbs, speed bumps, and various pavement surfaces. Some tests are so physically demanding on human beings that human drivers are limited to the amount of time they can actually spend in the car, or the number of times they can be exposed to a certain test.

Since new vehicles must be tested thoroughly for durability, and human testers might be better suited for things like noise, or driving dynamics tests, Ford is now employing robots for their harshest testing, especially in the truck line where durability is the name of the game.

Working with Utah-based Autonomous Solutions, Ford has a new set of robots that can drive vehicles at higher speeds, and for a greater number of repetitions over their most demanding courses than what any human driver could ever endure. These tests simulate over 10 years of wear and tear on a truck in a matter of days. All Ford truck designs must pass these durability tests before they can be offered to the public.

An operator at the central control center has the ability to monitor up to eight robotically driven vehicles at one time. This type of testing also allows Ford engineers to develop more severe tests that previously may have been too demanding for human test drivers.

All of this adds up to more durable products, which in the end is another selling point to American consumers. It also should mean higher quality cars and trucks, as well as more human drivers devoted to the other components of vehicle testing.