Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is using advanced robotics to test the long-term comfort and durability of its luxury vehicle seats.
The high-tech testing process compresses a decade of wear into just five days.
At its Gaydon, Warwickshire, testing centre four KUKA Occubots repeatedly sit, twist and apply pressure to seat designs over 25,000 cycles, using forces of more than 800 Newtons, equivalent to a person’s weight.
The goal is to ensure seats remain comfortable and robust across years of real-world use.
Heated seats are also tested for endurance, with 20,000 movement cycles carried out over 25 days to ensure functionality is maintained throughout its lifespan.
The robots operate 24/7, using sensors and cameras to track wear and flag faults in real time — part of JLR’s push to blend automation with precision engineering.
“Comfort is critical to luxury, so it’s a make-or-break moment for our clients,” said Thomas Mueller, exec director of product engineering.
“We’ve invested in robots to work alongside our expert engineers and rigorously test every aspect of our seat materials in super quick time.”
This seat testing is included in extensive virtual and physical trials on JLR’s new Range Rover, Defender, Jaguar and Discovery lines.
