 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(June 2014) |
A proving ground is an installation or reservation in which technology such as weapons, military tactics and automobile prototypes are experimented with or tested. Proving grounds can be operated by government bodies or civilian industries. They are distinct from military training areas which are run by the military and intended for the routine training and exercising of troops across the terrain.
In Russia, a designated area is usually called a "polygon".
In the United States, there are several military facilities that have been explicitly designated as proving grounds.
Automotive proving grounds [7] or automotive test tracks serve the automotive industry for road vehicle testing. In the automotive development process, vehicle manufacturers typically test the behaviour of vehicles in various environments and traffic situations. Conventional vehicle testing usually focuses on the dynamic properties of vehicles. Test tracks generally encompass the engineering tasks of vehicle testing and validation.
With the advent of self-driving cars, new proving grounds specially dedicated for them have appeared, and existing conventional proving grounds have been retooled for the testing of highly automated or fully autonomous vehicles.[ citation needed ]
Source: [9]
Bridgestone Corporation is a Japanese multinational manufacturing company founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (1889–1976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of ishibashi (石橋), meaning 'stone bridge' in Japanese. It primarily manufactures tires, as well as golf equipment.
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is an American tire company founded by Harvey S. Firestone (1868–1938) in 1900 initially to supply solid rubber side-wire tires for fire apparatus, and later, pneumatic tires for wagons, buggies, and other forms of wheeled transportation common in the era. Firestone soon saw the huge potential for marketing tires for automobiles, and the company was a pioneer in the mass production of tires. Harvey S. Firestone had a friendship with Henry Ford, and used this to become the original equipment supplier of Ford Motor Company automobiles, and was also active in the replacement market.
ZF Friedrichshafen AG, also known as ZF Group, originally Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen, and commonly abbreviated to ZF, is a German technology manufacturing company that supplies systems for passenger cars, commercial vehicles and industrial technology. It is headquartered in Friedrichshafen, in the south-west German state of Baden-Württemberg. Specializing in engineering, it is primarily known for its design, research and development, and manufacturing activities in the automotive industry and is one of the largest automotive suppliers in the world. Its products include driveline and chassis technology for cars and commercial vehicles, along with specialized plant equipment such as construction equipment. It is also involved in the rail, marine, defense and aviation industries, as well as general industrial applications. ZF has 162 production locations in 31 countries with approximately 168,700 (2023) employees.
Bendix Woods County Park is a park in Olive Township, St. Joseph County, Indiana, south of New Carlisle. The park is under the control of the St. Joseph County Parks and Recreation Department.
Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) is a United States Army series of environmentally specific test centers with its Yuma Test Center (YTC) being one of the largest military installations in the world. It is subordinate to the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command.
Mazda uses a number of different Proving Grounds to test their vehicles.
Nokian Tyres plc, headquartered in Nokia, Finland, produces tyres for cars, trucks, buses, and heavy-duty equipment. Known for its winter tyres, Nokian is the only tyre manufacturer in the world with its own permanent winter tyre testing facility. The company's Hakkapeliitta brand name is recognised in Finland as a trademark.
Ford Motor Company operates several proving grounds worldwide, for development and validation testing of new vehicles.
The Packard Proving Grounds, was a proving ground established in Shelby Charter Township, Michigan in 1927 by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Millbrook Proving Ground is an English vehicle testing centre located at Millbrook, Bedfordshire. One of the largest vehicle testing centres in Europe, it is near to the M1 and Bedford.
General Motors operates several proving grounds.
Stellantis North America, more commonly known as Chrysler, operates proving grounds around North America for development and validation testing of new vehicles.
Juvincourt Airfield is an abandoned military airfield, which is located near the commune of Juvincourt-et-Damary in the Aisne department of northern France.
ETAS GmbH is a German company which designs tools for the development of embedded systems for the automotive industry and other sectors of the embedded industry. ETAS is 100% owned by Robert Bosch GmbH.
National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRiP), the largest and one of the most significant initiatives in automotive sector so far, represents a unique joining of hands between the Government of India, a number of state governments and Indian Automotive Industry to create a state of the art Testing, Validation and R&D infrastructure in the country.
The braking test track is a fundamental element of the vehicle industry proving grounds, designed for conducting vehicle braking system operability and efficiency tests under various braking circumstances. Such types of tests are highly significant in regard to road safety. Testing is an indispensable step prior to manufacturing newly developed braking systems and enabling their utilization under real traffic circumstances. The effects of all factors other than human factors influencing the process of braking can be thoroughly tested in a testing environment designed to this end, i.e. on a braking test track.
The handling course is a section of vehicle industry proving grounds which provides the possibility to examine vehicle behaviour, vehicle manoeuvrability, and technical settings under controlled no-traffic circumstances. This track, which typically forms a loop, is often compared to smaller racecourses; it is, however strictly designed for testing. The layout of its environment imitates motorway circumstances.
VinFast Auto Ltd. is a Vietnam-based multinational automotive company founded by Vingroup, one of the largest private conglomerates in Vietnam that was founded by Pham Nhat Vuong.
The Camp Laguna was a sub camp of the US Army, Desert Training Center in Riverside County, California. The main headquarters for the Desert Training Center was Camp Young, this is where General Patton's 3rd Armored Division was stationed. Camp Laguna is 16 miles (26 km) miles northeast of Yuma, Arizona, off of U.S. Route 95. Trained at Camp Laguna were the 3rd Armored Divisions the 9th Armored Divisions, the 79th Infantry Divisions, 80th Infantry Divisions and 8th Infantry Division. The camp is named after the nearby town of Laguna, Yuma County, Arizona on the Colorado River. Camp Laguna was first World War II training camp built in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, it trained thousands of troop for war. Most of the land that was Camp Laguna is now part of the vast Yuma Proving Ground.
The American Center for Mobility (ACM) is a 500-acre (200 ha) vehicular automation research center and federally designated automated vehicle proving ground located in Ypsilanti Township, Michigan.