Inside a Crash Test Dummy

They’re actually quite pricey:

Average dummy – $40 – 60,000
Dummy with data acquisition – $250,000
Side crash dummy – $660,000 (most expensive)

That’s why components are swapped out instead of the entire dummy.  Ribs break the most often, and are a $15,000 to replace.

Above is just the skeleton.

Below are kid dummies.

The aforementioned data acquisition and biofeedback devices. They track 40 data points in total.

It measures things like neck and brain injuries, head acceleration and velocity.

The one thing a dummy cannot simulate is how a human tenses up just before a crash.

Ideally you don’t do that, relaxed musles fare better upon impact; that’s why a drunk driver often sustains a crash better than a sober one.

Into the cabin he goes to be crashed.

The dummy is covered in grease paint to document what hit where.

This is his face hitting the steering wheel airbag.

Spotted at the IIHS during my recent trip with Subaru.

 

 

How Ford Tests its F150 (& uses Men from Craigslist)

From inside the factory – how Ford tests its F150 pickup truck before putting it into final production.

From the robots to the dynos, actually Ford’s toughest test involves men it hired off Craigslist – the ‘Big Man Test’.

Read it online at Autonet.

Favourite line:

One of the toughest tests Ford has created doesn’t involve robots, or any tech at all. Instead they used 6’7″ 300 lbs men they hired from Craigslist, and called it the “Big Man Test”.

Fun fact: Ford’s PR team said this is the first time the ‘Big Man Test’ story has ever been published in Canada.

YES to my story finding skills.

***

From when I travelled with Ford to their proving grounds and factory last week.

Torque test.

Seat test for rattles.

That’s Mark, a 165 lb fake-human.

The tests run 24/7 for days.

There are robots everywhere.

This robot tests the fabric wear on the seats.

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