Human Body Models in Automated Vehicles

The challenges posed by new seating positions and new restraint systems in autonomous vehicles can be met with Human Body Models (HBM). This field of engineering has not yet been explored by IDIADA and therefore the main goal of this project is to explore the topic, document the know-how from the scientific world, and create a methodology to implement HBM in crash test simulation in order to be prepared for the customer’s needs.

The project “Human Body Model in Autonomous Vehicles” will present the basis of numerous internal and European projects, and in the near future, commercial ones.

Objective

Generate documentation, manuals, and tools to enable the simulation engineers to work comfortably with HBM models for the upcoming virtual tests. Being at the forefront of the research field will allow IDIADA to be a key OEM partner.

Current work

Significant research has already been conducted regarding HBMs, future automated driving vehicles, and expected occupant postures. Some documentation has been already generated mainly for the Toyota Open-source model Total HUman Model for Safety (THUMS) in LS-DYNA and the MADYMO Active Human Model (AHM).

The current main goal is to develop a set of tools to enhance the pre-positioning and post-processing of HBM simulations while extending the set of known HBMs (VIVA+, GHBMC…). Regarding pre-positioning tools, both (pre)simulation and morphing methods are considered to obtain a realistic posture. Depending on the time available and the required precision, each engineer could use one of these two methods to successfully position the HBM. Regarding post-processing, a method is being established to use the latest injury risk functions to evaluate possible skull fractures, brain damage, or rib fractures. With this information, more robust and realistic countermeasures could be generated to make future cars safer for humans.