You won’t hurt RUTH the robot’s feelings if you disagree with her, but it will be difficult to prove your point, given that her opinions are backed by mathematical evidence.

For example, the robotized unit for tactility and haptics (RUTH), which arrived in North America earlier this year, has assured Ford Motor Co. that its 2013 Fusion has an interior that customers want. The RUTH robot is a giant arm with six joints, programmed to poke the trims, turn the knobs, push the buttons, and interact with many of the vehicle’s interior areas in the same way a person would.

Quality can be difficult to express, yet when customers sit in a high-end car, they know by the feel of the trim and the touch of the buttons that the car is special. The sense of touch and the intuitive understanding of quality are innately human characteristics, but how do you measure them? The answer: Use a RUTH.

RUTH allows engineers to quantify vehicle characteristics such as softness, roughness, temperature, hardness, and comfort. This allows Ford to tailor each vehicle interior to exactly what a customer group wants.

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