Standards for car safety are steadily rising, and Governments are strengthening crash safety assessments accordingly. Carmakers are also spending astronomical amounts of money and time to make cars safer.
Therefore the role of dummies became more important, and they are evolving as automobiles are getting safer than ever.
Dummies: Reborn for better safety
Dummies are inevitable in crash tests
The word 'dummy' originally meant Mannequins showing clothing in a store, but the dummies used in the auto industry simulate how a real person’s body would respond in a car crash.
The first crash test dummy was created in 1949 by U.S Air Force for the evaluation of a fighter jet ejection seat.
While uncommon, live human volunteers participated in crash tests
Before then, researchers were using human corpses as surrogates to collect data on human injuries caused by accidents in crash experiments and subsequently adopted animals and volunteers as crash surrogates. Although these experiments provided valuable data for collision safety, they were gradually abandoned due to restrictions such as ethical and moral constraints.
Dummies for the auto industry were first used in the 1950s - Sierra Sam and VIP-50. And in 1971, GM combined the two to develop the Hybrid I dummy. He would be 178cm tall and would have a mass of approximately 78kg. The Hybrid I looked very similar to the ones we use these days, and later he evolved to the Hybrid III.
The Hero of Car Crash Experiments: Dummies
Unlike the earlier dummies made of wood, now they collect thousands of data
The dummy was merely a wooden doll when there was no term such as 'collision safety' until researchers developed ways to collect data for car safety.
The Hybrid III family was presented for head-on collisions already back in the late ’70s and has since been further advanced. Then THOR (Test Device for Human Occupant Restraint) got to replace the Hybrid III dummy. All in all, THOR has a more accurate biological structure, meaning it comes closer to the actual behavior of the human body than its predecessor.
Compared with the Hybrid III dummy, the THOR dummy has better damage prediction ability and has more human-like characteristics. For example, the THOR dummy has 134 more sensors mounted on its body to measure injuries in crashes, while the Hybrid III dummy cannot predict such risks. The neck part was advanced to simulate the head rotation lag, so the flexibility of the neck got closer to human characteristics. Its material properties such as artificial skin and metal structure can predict human injuries like skeletal fractures, internal organ injuries, and skin contusion.
Although the global specification has made only one standard for every dummy in the world, each auto company has to analyze data collected from the dummy using their unique technology. Hyundai·Kia has the highest number of dummies to bring the best quality.
The Dummies Hyundai·Kia Has
Hyundai·Kia has 27 different kinds of them, the total number reaching 162 families
Hyundai·Kia first used dummies in the 1980s, and they have 27 different kinds of them, the total number reaching 162 families. Thanks to the dummies, the new models of Hyundai·Kia could earn awards for their test performances.
The prices of their dummies vary. One unit costs from 10 thousand to 1 million US dollars (for the WorldSID dummies, Side Impact Dummy). Today, WorldSID is by far the most advanced dummy. Loaded with sensors to be more human-like, it carries 150 additional sensors and has a body structure similar to that of a real human.
Hyundai·Kia has various kinds of dummies in a different size, sex, and age
The reason for having 27 different kinds of dummies is that Hyundai·Kia wants to gather data from passengers of different sizes, genders, and ages. There is even a pregnant dummy.
For the development of this Hybrid III family of dummies, Governments formed a task group of experts to support the work through the generation of geometric and mass scale factors. These factors were applied to the Hybrid III 50th percentile male specifications to develop dimensional, weight and impact performance requirements for 5th and 95th percentile Hybrid III dummies. A BioRid dummy was tested side-by-side in simulated rear-impact sled tests.
Hyundai·Kia’s Crash Test Dummies at Work
Over 150 collision tests were required for each model
Hyundai·Kia now conducts various kinds of crash tests to fulfill the latest standard requirements, from a smaller overlap test, engaging just 25 percent of the car’s front, to an on-road obstacle collision test. Each crush test usually costs about 100,000 US dollars, and Hyundai·Kia spends 15 million dollars annually to test a single new model. Every new model has to go through about 150 collision tests.
Dummies in a side impact collision - Photo : IIHS (https://www.iihs.org)
Hyundai·Kia has the highest level of technology among its competitors, especially for a reliability prediction analysis and maintenance for dummies.
Hyundai·Kia, the Safest Cars in the U.S.
The Hyundai Palisade earned a Top Safety Pick award from the IIHS
The quality of seatbelts, airbags, and seats are all measured in a collision test to reduce the severity of the injury and the costs of motor vehicle crashes. The crash test dummy, an important tool for car crash safety tests, is of great significance to explore the injury biomechanics of the occupants and improve the safety performance of the vehicle. And Hyundai·Kia is one of the safest automakers.
Speaking of which, the Hyundai Palisade has officially earned a Top Safety Pick+ rating from the IIHS this year. The notorious IIHS, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, chose 6 models from Hyundai and 5 models from Kia that are eligible to be a TSP, and 7 models from each company for TSP+. All of the Genesis models qualified for TSP+.
The Hyundai Palisade, shaking up the midsize SUV market in the U.S., qualified for a 2019 TOP SAFETY PICK+ award right after the release. According to the IIHS, the vehicle earned good ratings in the driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, and head restraint tests.
Over 150 collision tests were required for Hyundai·Kia to get good ratings from the IIHS, and the companies' commitment to the support and development of all researchers for the highest standards of excellence is clear within their achievements.
