Phoenix Laboratories

PHOENIX CAPABILITIES

• Automated Vehicle (AV) and ADAS Testing

  Exponent's multidisciplinary teams analyze on-road incidents and create unique testing scenarios to assess AV and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) performance and safety in real-world driving situations. Our Phoenix engineers conduct rigorous accident investigations, reconstructing vehicle accidents and identifying complex causes.

  We perform full-scale testing with state-of-the-art robotic vehicle control and programmable AB Dynamics targets. Our capabilities include sensor design analysis, control system performance evaluation, AV machine learning and AI analysis, incident recreation simulation, government safety regulation compliance reviews, black box analysis, 3D laser scanning, vehicle dynamics analysis, and collision reconstruction.

• Battery Testing Laboratory

  Our battery testing lab provides industry-leading expertise to help clients create safe, high-performing products across grid storage, electric vehicles, micromobility, consumer electronics, and medical devices. Our engineers conduct investigations across all aspects of batteries and energy storage systems, from battery cell components to full pack and system-level evaluations.

  Exponent's multidisciplinary consultants bring deep domain experience to the use of a 450 kV computed tomography (CT) scanner, allowing our team to identify complex battery failures caused by design flaws, electrical or mechanical abuse, and manufacturing defects. We provide safety and regulatory compliance testing, thermal runaway testing, CT scanning, accelerated lifetime analyses, performance-evaluations, design reviews, thermal assessments, and FDA pre-market testing for medical device batteries. 

• Biomechanical Testing Laboratories

  Our scientists investigate injury mechanisms and human factors using motion capture systems, 3D laser scanning, crash testing systems, and human musculoskeletal modeling to help clients optimize occupant protection, validate safety system performance, and accurately determine injury causation based on crash forces for wearable devices, motor vehicles, micromobility products, fitness equipment, and industrial machinery throughout product development and post-incident investigation.

  Working with human participants and anthropomorphic test devices, we conduct biomechanical and injury potential testing, functional and ergonomics testing, human motion analysis, and transportation accident simulations. Our capabilities include institutional review board assessments and protocol approvals with confidentiality agreements for participant testing.

• Electrical Testing Laboratory

  Our electrical testing lab supports clients in addressing safety, reliability, and regulatory compliance, providing critical insights into design and manufacturing processes across the product lifecycle and enabling manufacturers, OEMs, and facility owners and operators to mitigate risk across power systems, electrical machinery, batteries, vehicle electronics, consumer electronics, medical devices, sensors, and more.

  We conduct electrical reliability and safety testing, perform risk analysis for electrical system designs, and conduct testing to failure based on statistical sampling. Our custom services include reverse engineering, electric and magnetic field modeling, technical prototype system development, electric shock investigations, intellectual property analyses, computer forensics, and product liability testing.

• Materials & Mechanical Testing Laboratories

  Clients rely on our materials and mechanical testing labs to understand root causes of mechanical failures and address materials engineering and electrochemistry challenges that impact safety, functionality, and performance of products used every day — from prototyping through manufacturing, market release, in-service use, and end-of-life. Our experts and lab teams develop custom structural and material testing methods and perform advanced mechanical modeling to support safety and reliability and to investigate mechanical failures.

  Our services include structural and material analysis, computational analyses including finite element analysis (FEA), accelerated durability testing, performance testing based on regulatory requirements, environmental conditioning, fracture and fatigue analysis, creep and relaxation analysis, impact and vibration testing, rotating equipment evaluation, corrosion testing, fractography, materials characterization, contaminant identification, optical and scanning electron microscopy, X-ray radiography, and CT scanning.

• Polymer Testing Laboratory

  Our polymer testing lab assists clients in identifying vulnerabilities and assessing root cause analysis in failures that can occur in plastics, rubbers, coatings, adhesives, sealants, and composite materials at every stage — whether selecting materials for new products, evaluating existing product formulations, or analyzing failure causes in damaged components. We use advanced research tools to support material selection, supply chain assessments, product performance evaluation, and damaged component analysis.

  Our experts assess fatigue, creep, wear, and weathering effects on polymer components, predict lifespan, assess manufacturing quality, and support regulatory and compliance evaluations. Our lab services include material qualification, process validation, custom test method development, durability and accelerated aging testing, quality analysis, design of experiments, failure mode and effects analysis, and biocompatibility assessments.

• Rapid Prototyping Laboratory

  Our rapid prototyping lab enables clients to iterate designs quickly, reduce manufacturing costs, and test functionality before full-scale production across diverse industries from initial concept through validation testing. Our team specializes in optimizing 3D models using conventional and CNC machining, large-bed resin printers, fused deposition printers, and welding.

  We offer part analysis and engineering support with advanced metrology tools such as hand scanners for sub-millimeter modeling of complex shapes. These capabilities support rapid design cycles, iterative testing, and custom test fixture development, creating technically sound prototypes suited for real-world applications and edge-case testing. These broad capabilities allow for design and fabrication of bespoke fixtures and equipment that enable specialized, edge-case testing. 

• User Experience Laboratory

  Our user experience (UX) lab provides human factors insights that improve product safety, inform design decisions, optimize work environments, and support accident investigations across all product development stages — from early concept validation through safety-critical system evaluation. Our flexible, configurable spaces enable us to collect and analyze data across diverse test subjects and methodologies, from traditional A/B testing and focus groups to custom research labs.

  Our facility features a custom UX suite equipped with Command & Test Observation (CATO) capabilities, facilitating sophisticated monitoring and analysis of user interaction with vehicle components, advanced driver assistance systems, and safety-critical control systems. This flexibility allows us to tailor testing throughout all stages of product development.

• Vehicle Testing & Evaluations

  Our vehicle testing facility supports automotive, EV, and micromobility device manufacturers and OEMs in validating safety and performance through custom testing, accident reconstruction, and biomechanical analysis. With unparalleled expertise in vehicle dynamics, automotive electronics, biomechanics, and human factors, we assess vehicle safety through comprehensive engineering evaluation and human-centered testing.

  Our facility features an anthropomorphic test device lab, vehicle crash rail, oval track, skid pad, all-terrain area, and indoor testing space. We design incident-specific tests to assess the human-vehicle system through accident reconstruction, crash testing, regulatory compliance evaluation, component analysis, CT scanning, and FEA.