Sophisticated dummy

Two teams of engineers with the University of Virginia's Center for Applied Biomechanics are playing major roles in the creation of a new computer model of a crash test dummy for the Global Human Body Models Consortium (GHBMC).

The GHBMC is a consortium of nine automakers and two suppliers who decided to consolidate their individual research and development activities in human body modelling into a single global effort to advance crash safety technology.

Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda R&D, Hyundai Motor, Nissan, Peugeot-Citroën, Renault, Takata, Toyota and TRW Automotive are all members of the consortium, which created a company in April 2006 following three years of organising and planning.

The computational models of a human being developed at the University of Virginia will include lifelike detail of flesh, bones, ligaments, blood vessels and organs.

'Already, cars and their safety systems are designed on computers,' said Richard Kent, one of the University of Virginia's team leaders on the project and a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering. 'It's logical that we would create a virtual crash test dummy that would allow us to test these safety systems before they are ever physically built.'