A challenge for River Drive Manufacturing has been to design a testing method for our passenger assist straps and handles that replicates the range of movement our products are put through in the real world by real public transit passengers. We have employed traditional cycle testing machines in the past. The limitation of these machines is generally that only one plane of motion is available. This can give some insights into product durability, but it does not truly replicate the multi-plane moving, bending and twisting that occur in the real operating environment.

Representatives at ABB, a world leader in industrial robot solutions, assisted River Drive in identifying a 6-axis robot that can be programmed to replicate any movement that a passenger could possibly put an assist strap through. This has allowed us to create more complex, and more realistic, cycle tests for our products. All of this helps us to identify opportunities for product improvements.