The Auggie renders ADAS targets and lighting conditions according to the OEM’s requirements, and works with most major scan tools.
AirPro Diagnostics announced Oct. 31 its mobile static calibration device, the Auggie, has met two national organizations’ vehicle requirements to complete a safe Forward-Facing Camera (FFC) calibration. They include the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The announcement occurred during the 2023 SEMA Show, following independent testing by IIHS and NHTSA.
“This independent testing to the IIHS and NHTSA standards now validates the claims we have made that the Auggie is safe and OEM-compatible,” said Josh McFarlin, president and COO of AirPro Diagnostics.
The testing was conducted by FT Techno of America (FTTA), an independent vehicle evaluation company, at the Fowlerville Proving Grounds in southeast Michigan. The 950-acre facility employs professional engineering and operations staff and has multiple test tracks. These include a 3-mile oval track, a handling course to test vehicle dynamics, ride and handling, and a 300-by-500-foot multi-purpose pad designed for testing and development of ADAS and autonomous technologies.
Established in 2016, AirPro Diagnostics focuses on remote diagnostics, scanning, programming and ADAS calibration solutions for the automotive repair industry. The company introduced the Auggie to the collision industry in 2021 during the Texas Auto Body Trade Show.
The patented mobile device was designed to serve the automotive service sectors with quick and safe FFC calibrations. McFarlin said the Auggie renders ADAS targets and lighting conditions using machine learning and computer vision according to the OEM’s requirements. It works with most major scan tools.
Because the calibration process can be completed in a fraction of the time of traditional systems, McFarlin said shops can bring calibration in-house and be more productive and profitable. Since introducing the Auggie, McFarlin has found customers appreciate not having to contend with challenges such as needing a large space with a level floor, lighting requirements, vehicle fuel level, vehicle payload and other environmental concerns.
The company completed in-depth research and testing on the product before and after its launch to ensure accurate results and safe and proper calibration.
“Everybody on our team is very confident that it's a product that does what we say it does,” said McFarlin.
Earlier this year, the AirPro team set out to prove the equipment can complete a successful calibration. After talking to multiple test facilities about testing the tool, AirPro moved forward with onsite testing to evaluate the Auggie.
For the IIHS testing, McFarlin said a 2023 Toyota Camry was chosen since it was one of the vehicles IIHS has tested in both daytime and nighttime scenarios and received a superior rating. After calibrating the vehicle with the Auggie, vehicle-to-vehicle automatic emergency braking (AEB) and Pedestrian AEB were evaluated during the daytime and nightime. The vehicle completed 16 IIHS tests and received the highest possible rating---superior.
McFarlin explained the IIHS nighttime pedestrian testing is a series of the most challenging tests for an FFC and only a very small percentage of vehicles earn a superior rating.
“AirPro is especially proud of the 'superior' rating we achieved on IIHS testing,” said McFarlin. “This further confirms the efforts of our engineers and testing personnel, who over the last five years, have worked diligently to validate our patented solution on thousands of vehicles to ensure the safety and accuracy of our tested and proven Auggie.”
NHTSA NCAP Testing was then conducted using Crash Imminent Braking (CIB) or AEB and Lane Departure Warning (LDW) test scenarios on a 2023 Nissan Rogue calibrated with Auggie.
The Nissan successfully passed all CIB and LDW tests performed to NHTSA standards. The tests included both Solid and Dashed Line scenarios for LDW along with CIB/AEB testing on a moving and stationary vehicle. Additional CIB/AEB testing was successfully performed on a stationary pedestrian to a hybrid of current ADAS standards.
During SEMA, AirPro held a competition in the company’s booth to determine how fast participants could calibrate using the Auggie.
“The competition demonstrated the speed and consistency of using Auggie’s machine learning to complete successful static calibrations,” said McFarlin. He said it also demonstrated how easy the Auggie is to setup for a novice.
Shawn Azam from AW Collision in Monrovia, CA, completed the Auggie setup in the fastest time, 2:22, and received a $1,000 Visa gift card. The top 14 Auggie setups were completed in under five minutes.
For more information, visit airprodiagnostics.com/auggie.
Abby Andrews