Crash test dummy
A crash test dummy is an anthropomorphic testing device designed to simulate human responses during motor vehicle crashes, allowing researchers and automakers to assess the potential for injury in various crash scenarios. Developed in the late 1940s by Colonel John Paul Stapp, the first dummies were created to more accurately reflect human anatomy compared to previous testing methods that involved cadavers and animals. Over the decades, innovations have led to the creation of more advanced models, such as the Hybrid III and THOR series, which incorporate a range of sensors to better predict human injury risk during collisions. These dummies come in various sizes and designs, representing adults, children, and even specific demographics like pregnant women and obese individuals, reflecting the changing diversity of the human population. In addition to automotive applications, crash test dummies are also used in military settings to assess risks in combat scenarios. Ongoing advocacy emphasizes the need for greater diversity in dummy prototypes to ensure comprehensive safety testing for all individuals. Through rigorous testing with these dummies, the transportation industry continually seeks to improve vehicle safety standards, ultimately aiming to reduce injuries and fatalities on the road.
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Crash test dummy
A crash test dummy is a calibrated testing device used to measure the potential of human injury in motor vehicle crashes. These anthropomorphic—meaning they have human characteristics—testing devices simulate how a human body would respond to accelerations, impacts, forces, and other scenarios in a crash situation. The dummies allow automakers and experts in the transportation industry to determine the safety of various vehicles in crash situations and what, if any, changes need to be made to improve safety. Crash test dummies come in a variety of sizes to show a crash's potential impact on both adult and child passengers.
Overview
Before the invention of the first crash test dummy, crash test researchers relied on cadavers, animals, sandbags, and even live humans. Colonel John Paul Stapp, an Air Force surgeon, developed the idea for the first crash test dummies in 1949. He was studying the physiology of rapid deceleration and wanted to run his tests on something more closely resembling a human. He commissioned a dummy be created based on plaster casts of an actual pilot. Sierra Engineering, a California company, created a dummy they called Sierra Sam, which was six feet tall and made of steel and rubber. By 1965, engineer Samuel Alderson built VIP, the first crash test dummy designed specifically for the automotive industry that demonstrated impacts on the average male, large male, and small female. Alderson's company, Alderson Research Lab, eventually become Humanetics, one of the largest contractors for anthropomorphic dummies. In 1971, General Motors built on the successes of these previous models to create Hybrid I, which was better able to produce more standardized results.
As time went on, new technology was added to the dummies to better represent the human body. For example, the Hybrid III, a popular model used by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), has steel ribs in its torso that can better simulate human chest injuries. There are also specific dummies used for men, women, children, babies, pregnant women, and even separate side- and rear-impact dummies to test different crash scenarios. Pedestrian dummies were also developed to better test the impacts of a vehicle striking a human outside of a car.
Crash test dummies in the twenty-first century also carry a bevy of over 200 sensors that allow safety engineers to predict the risk of human injury more accurately in crash situations. In 1995, the development of THOR—or Test device for Human Occupant Restraint— began. In 2013, the NHTSA and Humanetics delivered the first THOR protoype, THOR-50M, which represented an average male. THOR-50M's head and neck featured more muscular resistance, so the dummy reacted more like a human head during a crash. Its chest also featured a full set of ribs complete with sensors. THOR models have been designed for various impact points and in numerous sizes, representing a wide range of scenarios. The capabilities of these prototypes allow manufacturers, researchers, and safety officials to understand potential pitfalls and hazards of automobile restraints.
In addition to being smarter, modern crash test dummies are also getting bigger, just as their human counterparts are. In 2017, Humanetics announced they had created two new dummies to reflect the fact that Americans are growing older and larger. To better test the impacts of a crash on different body types, the company created an obese dummy that weighs 273 pounds—more than 100 pounds heavier than a normal crash test dummy—and a dummy based on an overweight seventy-year-old woman. While these measures are helpful, lobbyists, lawmakers, and consumer advocates have continued to push for a greater variety in dummy prototypes, especially for women.
Militaries around the world also have test dummies that they use to test in explosions, crashes, and aviation ejections and jumps. The Warrior Injury Assessment Manikin (WIAMan), which assessed risks and potential hazards to soldiers in ground systems vehicles through 156 sensors, was developed in 2015 by the United States Army and Diversified Technical Systems (DTS). Since then, multiple prototypes have been designed, and eventually used in live fire simulations, in order to keep up with the changing landscape of military combat.
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