| DRI awarded USDOT SBIR
Phase II contract to develop software to calculate occupant forces
in real-world crashes
November 2005
Dynamic Research, Inc. has been awarded a Phase II contract from
the U.S. Department of Transportation under the Small Business Innovative
Research (SBIR) program to develop software to calculate occupant
forces and motions in real-world crashes. The software comprises
multi-body crash simulation software, pre and post processing visualization
software, vehicle models, occupant models and an easy-to-use graphical
user interface.
The software, the feasibility of which was demonstrated under
a Phase I contract beginning in 2002, is intended for a wide variety
of accident researchers, including crash investigators such as those
in the US/DOT/NHTSA/CIREN and NASS programs, as well as researchers
in medical, insurance, product liability, academia, vehicle and
component manufacturing and other safety related fields. The goal
is to make the software simple to use so that detailed knowledge
of the crash simulation program or models is not required. The software
is intended to use available crash information to automatically
set up and run computer simulations. It will use the recorded or
estimated vehicle kinematics and will calculate the three dimensional
occupant contacts, forces, and motions, enabling the user to associate
these with the observed contacts and injuries.
The user will be able to select cases from CIREN, NASS or other
accident databases and the software will use the information in
the databases to generate occupant models, vehicle models, restraint
system models and an initial estimate of the crash pulse. The software
will automatically position the occupant in the seat and fit the
seatbelt in the specified position on the lap and torso. The software
will then run the crash simulation and compare the simulated occupant
to vehicle contacts with those recorded in the accident database.
The user will then be able to iteratively refine the crash pulse,
occupant or seating position and re-run the simulation.
This Phase II development is expected to be completed in late
2007. If you are interested in this software or have any questions,
please contact Scott Kebschull at DRI at +1-310-212-5211. |