FUEL CELL CONCEPT CAR SHOWN AS WORLD'S LARGEST HOLOGRAM; FORD ACQUIRES INTEREST IN ZEBRA IMAGING

BRENTWOOD - Ford has acquired an equity interest in Zebra Imaging, an Austin, Texas, firm that developed with Ford a breakthrough process for viewing electronic design data in 3-D. The hologram display, being exhibited at the Geneva Motor Show, provides an inside look at a futuristic, zero-emissions family saloon - and at the same time a sneak preview of how cars and trucks might be designed in the next century.

The concept car is the For P2000 Prodigy, but it is not being shown in traditional metals, fiberglass or clay. Instead, it takes the form of the world's largest full-colour, full parallax hologram - a 50 per cent scale, three-dimensional image projected from a 40-square-foot panel. The exterior of the P2000 Prodigy is a translucent red, allowing the viewer to see inside to the vehicle's futuristic powertrain - a hydrogen fuel cell.

"Ford P2000 Prodigy represents the future of the family saloon - efficient, clean but fully functional with no compromises on safety, quality or driving dynamics," said

J Mays, Ford Vice President - Design. "It is only fitting we display this futuristic car in a completely new form. Our holography display is a first look at a promising technology in its infancy. Perhaps it's also a glimpse into the future of produce development at Ford."

The display was developed by Zebra Imaging, in partnership with Ford's Advanced Design Studio. The large hologram demonstrates application of a design concept

Ford calls "3-D Hardcopy." Future Ford designers will use similar holograms to supplement traditional 2-D sketches that are created in the earliest stages of concept development, before the first clay models are milled.

Ford has acquired a 12 per cent equity stake in Zebra Imaging, and will continue to work with the company on a variety of advanced imaging concepts.

"We look forward to developing this strategic relationship to work with Ford in applying our holographic technology to the automotive industry," said Alex Ferdman, Chief Executive Officer - Zebra Imaging. "Until now the potential of holography has not been realised due to the intensive manual process required to create a hologram. Zebra's mission is to fully automate the medium and make it broadly accessible for commercial and consumer applications."

Farther into the future, full-scale, interactive holograms eventually may replace some of the clay models currently used in automotive produce development. Ford is working with strategic partners on both sides of the Atlantic to develop new "replacement reality" technologies that could be used by Ford designers worldwide to design and engineer vehicles in the next decade. The main objective is to achieve high-quality, high-resolution, full-colour computer-generated images, while at the same time optimising the interface between the electronic tool and the designer or engineer.

World's Largest Hologram of Its Type

The 3-D image of the Ford P2000 Prodigy appears when the tiled panel of holographic film is illuminated by intense white light. The film panel contains 900,000 individual exposures taken directly from the computer design data from the car's development team in Dearborn.

"Holograms have come a long way from flying doves on credit cards and low-resolution images on the back of cereal boxes," said Tom Scott, Director - Ford Advanced Design. "But the most exciting developments are yet to come."

Holography is a technique in which a complex three-dimensional image can be recorded and reproduced a flat, two-dimensional surface. To make a standard hologram, a beam of laser light is divided into two smaller beams. One of these beams, called the reference beam, is kept pure and travels directly to the photosensitive film on which the hologram is to be recorded. The other beam, called the object beam, is reflected off the object to be recorded and back onto the same film. As the reference beam and object beam converge on the film, they interact and combine to form a complex pattern called an interference pattern.

Once developed, the film's interference pattern is capable of diffracting light to reproduce an exact copy of the object beam when illuminated with a copy of the reference beam. When viewed by an observer, the copy of the object beam creates an image of the actual model in 3-D space.

However, the Ford hologram is not a reproduction of a physical object - the image was created directly from 3-D electronic design data from computers in the company's Advanced Design Studio. Zebra Imaging then used this electronic design data to create the 3-D hard copy at its Austin facility.

"As Ford continues to compress its product development times, the company will bring new customer-pleasing vehicles to market more quickly. Tapping into Ford's industry-leading computer capabilities is the key. Holographic technology may provide a better means to view and work with complex design data," Scott said.

"Our designers and engineers today work on a globally-linked computer system that processes all data in three dimensions. What's missing is a fully interactive way to visualise that data. Holography appears to be the most promising technology to produce that breakthrough, and we are encouraged by our research efforts in this developing field.

"What this will mean to our customers is simple - higher quality, more exciting vehicles that hit the market more quickly," he said.

The hologram of the P2000 Prodigy has full parallax - that is, a viewer who stoops down will see underneath the image while a tall viewer can look down on the top of the car. Developed jointly by Ford and Zebra Imaging, it is easily the largest hologram of its kind ever displayed to the public. Previously, it is believed that the largest cull-colour, full parallax hologram generated directly from computer data was just four inches square.

"This isn't just a presentation of technology for our auto show displays. Holography might allow us to make design decisions faster to create more exciting cars and trucks for our customers," said Scott.

P2000 Prodigy Car: Advanced Technology for a Quantum Reduction in Fuel Consumption

Ford is developing a number of lightweight, fuel-efficient vehicles with the P2000 name as part of the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) programme. The vehicles are designed to prove out revolutionary concepts in the use of lightweight materials, aerodynamic design, innovative powertrains, creative packaging and other technologies to ensure that tomorrow's environmentally responsible vehicles appeal to customers while maintaining or improving performance and functionality.

The five-passenger aluminum-bodied P2000 saloon will be extremely light and aerodynamic for optimal energy efficiency, while retaining the performance and functionality customers expect in a family saloon. Two advanced powertrains are being developed for the Prodigy: a hydrogen fuel cell system (shown in the display) that will power an electric drivetrain, and a hybrid electric system featuring a very small, high-output compression ignition engine, an integral starter/alternator and an advanced high-power battery.

Ford news release and photographs are available on the Ford News Service Web site (http://media.ford.com). High-resolution photographs may be downloaded from the Web site