Driver Airbag Research Articles

Effects of seatback angle, seat rotation, and impact speed on injury risk of occupants in highly automated vehicles in frontal crashes

Objective The objective of this study is to examine the effects of seatback angle, seat rotation, and impact speed on occupant kinematics and injury risk in highly automated vehicles. Methods The study utilized the Global Human Body Models Consortium midsize male (M50-OS+B) simplified occupant model in a simplified vehicle model (SVM) to simulate frontal crashes. The M50-OS+B model was gravity-settled and belted into the driver and left rear passenger seat. To investigate the effects of seatback angle, seat rotation, and impact speed on occupant kinematics and injury risk in frontal crashes, a design of experiments (DOE) was conducted. The DOE incorporated four seatback angles (13°, 23°, 45°, and 57.5° about vertical), four seat rotation angles (0°, 25°, 45°, and 90°), three impact speeds (25, 35, and 45 kph), and four frontal crash type configurations. All four seatback angles were used with 0° seat rotation, whereas 13° seatback angle was used with the remaining seat rotation configurations because of cabin fit considerations. Injury risks were estimated for the head, neck, shoulder, thorax, pelvis, and lower extremities for both occupants for each simulation (n=588). Results Statistically significant differences between all the groups within each independent variable category were observed based on the analysis of variance. HIC-based head injury risk and chest injury risk decreased and femur force for the driver and tibia force for the passenger increased with an increase in seatback angles. The head injury risk increased with seat rotation. All the injury risks increased with an increase in impact speed. The driver airbag was able to safeguard the driver from head injuries for all seat rotations except at 90° of seat rotation. Conclusion This is the first vehicle modeling study that collectively looked at the effects of seatback angle, seat rotation, and impact speed along with the interaction of occupants on the risk of injury in frontal crashes. The rear passenger experienced higher seatbelt loads than the driver. More reclined seats decreased head and chest injury risk, but increased driver femur injury risk and rear passenger tibia injury risk. Results underscore the necessity for additional anti-submarining mechanisms and driver airbag designs adapted for the anticipated occupant positions.

Summary of influences that led to introduction of frontal airbags on US passenger vehicles

Objective The history of airbags for occupant protection in frontal crashes is reviewed from the perspective of a former Senior Executive at NHTSA from the early 1970’s to the late 1980’s. This paper summarizes the factors that led to regulatory delays as well as those that led to voluntary adoption of airbags by several manufacturers. Methods The regulatory history and interactions with airbag suppliers and vehicle manufactures is recounted citing key steps in the evolution of frontal airbags. Results When the Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Standard 208, “Occupant Protection” was issued on July 2, 1969 the Safety Agency anticipated that the industry response would provide automatic frontal crash protection from airbags that deployed to protect all front seat occupants from injury in severe frontal crashes. It was not until, September 1, 1998 that airbags were required in all cars and light trucks. The interim 29 years involved a series of stops and starts during which most of the original airbag suppliers lost interest and abandoned the airbag market. The issues associated with airbags and their place in Standard 208 were directly influenced by interventions from the President, the Congress, the Supreme Court, Secretaries of Transportation, NHTSA Administrators, the Presidents of US Auto Companies and Senior Executives of Insurance Companies. Conclusion In 1966, there was support from the US auto industry for a single source of safety regulations that apply to new vehicles sold in the US. This is evidenced by the unanimous passage by the House of Representatives and Senate of the Law that created the Federal auto safety regulatory framework. The Law also required seatbelts in new cars and prohibited States from making separate safety rules. However, the large safety benefits offered by seatbelts were negated because they were rarely used. Consequently, finding ways of providing high levels of protection without requiring action by occupants became a goal of the new Safety Agency. The airbag offered the possibility of achieving that goal. From the initial airbag notice of proposed rulemaking on July 2, 1969, Safety Agency required 2 years to resolve objections before a final Standard 208 could be issued (on July 8,1971). The subsequent industry opposition to the Standard 208 employed Presidential influence and Court suits to cause a 5½ year delay until the Coleman Decision on December 6, 1976. Changes in regulatory approach of the Ford, Carter, and Reagan Administrations and associated Court suits caused another 7½ year delay until the Dole Decision on July 17, 1984. It required another 7 ½, until December 18, 1991, for market forces to reduce industry opposition to airbags and permit Congress to pass a law that mandated them. Another 6½ years of lead time was required before all cars and light trucks were required to meet the airbag standard. During the mid and late 1980’s vehicle safety ratings, seatbelt use laws, and Vince and Larry PSA’s had all acted to increase safety awareness and safety belt use. Consequently, added public demand for vehicle safety features slowly developed. Changes in economic incentives encouraged a number of vehicle lines to install driver airbags as standard equipment and the feature was being widely advertised by Chrysler. This combination of events made it possible for Congress to pass and President Bush 41 to sign legislation requiring airbags in cars and light trucks by September 1, 1998 – more than 29 years after the initial rulemaking notice in 1969.

Improving correlation accuracy of crashworthiness applications by combining the CORA and MADM methods

With the increasing use of Computer Aided Engineering, it has become vital to be able to evaluate the accuracy of numerical models. This research poses the problem of selection of the most accurate and relevant correlation solution to a set of corridor variations. Specific methods such as CORA, widely accepted in industry, are developed to objectively evaluate the correlation between monotonic functions, while the Minimum Area Discrepancy Method, or MADM, is the only method to address the correlation of non-injective mathematical variations, usually related to force/acceleration versus displacement problems. Often, it is not possible to differentiate objectively various solutions proposed by CORA, which this paper proposes to answer. This research is original, as it proposes a new innovative correlation optimisation framework, which can select the best CORA solution by including MADM as a subsequent process. The paper and the methods are rigorous, having used an industry standard driver airbag computer model, built virtual test corridors and compared the relationship between different CORA and MADM ratings from 100 Latin Hypercube samples. For the same CORA value of ‘1’ (perfect correlation), MADM was capable to objectively differentiate between 13 of them and provide the best correlation possible. The paper has recommended the MADM settings n = 1; m = 2 or n = 3; m = 2 for a congruent relationship with CORA. As MADM is performed subsequently, this new framework can be implemented in already existing industrial processes and provide automotive manufacturers and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) with a new tool to generate more accurate computer models.

Design of the Airbag Inflation System Applicable to Conventional and Autonomous Vehicles

The emergency transformation of various aspects of life and business these days requires prompt evaluation of autonomous vehicles. One of the primary reassessments deals with the applicability of the vehicle passive safety system to the protection of arbitrarily positioned passengers. To mitigate possible risks caused by the simultaneous deployment of several big airbags, a new principle of their operation is required. Herein, the aspirated inflator for a driver airbag is developed that can provide 50L-airbag inflation within 30–40 ms. As a result, about 3/4 of the air is to be entrained into an airbag from the vehicle compartment. The process is initiated by a supersonic pulse jet (1/3 air volume) generated pyrotechnically. Then the Prandtl–Meyer problem formulation enables guiding linear and angular dimensions of the essential parts of the device. Accordingly, a family of experimental models of varied geometry is fabricated and tested to determine their operational effectiveness in a range of motive pressure within ~ 3–7 MPa. Experiments are performed on a specially designed facility equipped with compressed-air tanks and a high-speed valve to mimic the inflator operation with the pyrotechnic gas generator. The aspirated inflator operability is characterized using multivariate measurements of pressure fields, high-speed video-recording of the airbag inflation process, and evaluation of aspiration (entrainment) ratio. The average volume aspiration ratio measured at 300 K is found to reach 2.8 and it’s expected to almost double at 1200 K.

Study on Stiffness Characteristics of Driver Airbag Cover under Simulated Finger Pressing

The cover of driver airbag should not only satisfy the performance request of deployment, but also satisfy the sufficient stiffness while pressing on the horn. However, the stiffness of the cover is only evaluated by subjective pressure at present, and there is no quantitative test and data description. Through the subjective pressure evaluation and stiffness test of the driver airbag and other different models of the driver’s airbag cover, the assumption of the stiffness of the cover was obtained, and then the stiffener was used to increase the stiffness of the cover. The subjective press evaluation and the stiffness test were carried out, and the verification hypothesis was established, and the test method of the cover stiffness and the quantitative description method were obtained.

Restraint systems considering occupant diversity and pre-crash posture

Objective Use volunteer data and parametric finite element (FE) human body models to investigate how restraint systems can be designed to adapt to a diverse population and pre-crash posture changes induced by active safety features. Methods Four FE human models were generated by morphing the midsize male GHBMC simplified model into geometries representing a midsize male, midsize female, short obese female (BMI 40 kg/m2), and large obese male (BMI 40 kg/m2) based on statistical skeleton and body shape geometry models. Each human model was positioned in a generic vehicle driver environment using two occupant pre-crash postures based on volunteer test results including one resulting from 1-g abrupt braking events. Improved restraint designs were manually developed for each occupant model in a 56 km/h frontal crash condition by adding a knee airbag, adjusting the shoulder belt load limit, steering column force, and driver airbag properties (tethers, inflation, and vent size). The improved designs were then tested at both pre-crash postures. Injury risks for the head, neck, chest, and lower extremities were analyzed. Results Human size and shape dominated the occupant injury measures, while the pre-crash-braking induced posture had minimal effects. Some of the safety concerns observed for large occupants include head strike-through the airbag and a conflict between head and chest injuries, which were mitigated by a stiffer restraint system with properly-tuned driver airbag. Chest injuries were a prominent safety concern for female occupants, mitigated by a softer seatbelt and smaller airbag size near the chest. Obese occupants exhibited a higher likelihood of lower extremity injuries indicating a need for a knee airbag. A diverse set of improved restraint designs were effective in lowering injury risks, indicating that restraint adaptability is necessary for accounting for occupant diversity. Conclusions This study investigated the effects of occupant size and shape variability, posture, and restraint design on injury risk for high-speed frontal crashes. More forward initial postures due to active safety features may decrease head, neck, and lower extremity injury risk, but may also increase chest injury risk. Safety concerns observed for large occupants include head strike-through and a conflict between head and chest injuries. Obese occupants had higher knee-thigh-hip injury risk. New restraints that adapt to occupant size and body shape may improve crash safety for all occupants. Further investigation is needed to confirm and extend the findings of this study.

Should airbags be deactivated for wheelchair-seated drivers?

Objective Field data have shown significant benefit from driver airbag for occupant protection in frontal crashes. However, vehicle modifiers almost always permanently deactivate airbags for wheelchair-seated drivers. The objective of this study was to conduct sled tests and computational simulations to answer whether driver airbags should be deactivated for drivers seated in wheelchairs. Methods Five sled tests were conducted under a 48-kph 20-g frontal crash pulse all with driver airbag. Seat-belt fit (good, poor, and unbelted), airbag deployment time (proper and late), and occupant size (midsize male and small female HIII ATDs) were varied in the tests. The 2006 Chrysler Town-and-Country minivan was selected as the nominal vehicle environment, and a surrogate wheelchair with a docking securement system was used for all sled tests. ATD injury measures for the head, neck, chest, and lower extremities were recorded in each test, and were used for validating a set of MADYMO models. Parametric studies with a total of 28 MADYMO simulations were then conducted to investigate the airbag effects on occupant injury risks with varied occupant size, belt fit, and impact angle (0, 15, and 30 deg). Results The sled tests showed potential safety concerns for wheelchair-seated drivers with a poor belt fit or without a belt. Specifically, the unbelted midsize male ATD sustained high femur forces and the small female ATD with poor belt fit sustained high chest deflections. The parametric simulations showed that airbag generally improved the protection for wheelchair-seated drivers. It is especially useful for unbelted wheelchair-seated drivers, and is also helpful for reducing the head and neck injury risks regardless of the belt condition, occupant size, and impact angle. Conclusions This is the first study using sled tests and computational simulations to investigate the effects of airbag deployment on injury risks of wheelchair-seated drivers. Overall, the results showed little basis for concern that the energy of deploying a driver airbag in today’s vehicles will cause serious-to-fatal injuries to drivers seated in wheelchairs. The results of this study therefore support the idea that driver airbags generally offer tangible safety benefits for a wide range of wheelchair-seated drivers in frontal crashes.

Design and Dynamic Analysis of Fixture Behaviour Used for Vibration Testing of some Automotive Components

The purpose of this paper is to develop a project for fixtures used in the automotive industry for fixing of certain components such as side airbags, curtain airbags, driver airbag, airbags in the seats airbags knee protection, devices for securing the seat belts, steering wheels, in order to test to vibration. Due to the multitude of elements which are in continuous movement on the vehicle or the high forces that occur during vehicle running, mechanical vibrations phenomena are produced. These cause aging products mounted on the car, lead to fatigue of materials, and to lower initial mechanical properties and finally the complete destruction of subassemblies. To prevent such situations, car manufacturers always ask before approval to make the simulation of vibration and then to recover destructive tests and prepare a report of the simulation correctly. Therefore, after carrying out the project it will be 1odelled by applying the Finite Element Method (FEM), and then using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to determine modal parameters. A fixture for the locking of the seat belt socket is the object of the analysis in this paper.

Design and Occupant-Protection Performance Analysis of a New Tubular Driver Airbag

Abstract An airbag is an effective protective device for vehicle occupant safety, but may cause unexpected injury from the excessive energy of ignition when it is deployed. This paper focuses on the design of a new tubular driver airbag from the perspective of reducing the dosage of gas generant. Three different dummies were selected for computer simulation to investigate the stiffness and protection performance of the new airbag. Next, a multi-objective optimization of the 50th percentile dummy was conducted. The results show that the static volume of the new airbag is only about 1/3 of the volume of an ordinary one, and the injury value of each type of dummy can meet legal requirements while reducing the gas dosage by at least 30%. The combined injury index (Pcomb) decreases by 22% and the gas dosage is reduced by 32% after optimization. This study demonstrates that the new tubular driver airbag has great potential for protection in terms of reducing the gas dosage.

The effect of precrash velocity reduction on occupant response using a human body finite element model

ABSTRACTObjective: The objective of this study is to use a validated finite element model of the human body and a certified model of an anthropomorphic test dummy (ATD) to evaluate the effect of simulated precrash braking on driver kinematics, restraint loads, body loads, and computed injury criteria in 4 commonly injured body regions.Methods: The Global Human Body Models Consortium (GHBMC) 50th percentile male occupant (M50-O) and the Humanetics Hybrid III 50th percentile models were gravity settled in the driver position of a generic interior equipped with an advanced 3-point belt and driver airbag. Fifteen simulations per model (30 total) were conducted, including 4 scenarios at 3 severity levels: median, severe, and the U.S. New Car Assessment Program (U.S.-NCAP) and 3 extra per model with high-intensity braking. The 4 scenarios were no precollision system (no PCS), forward collision warning (FCW), FCW with prebraking assist (FCW+PBA), and FCW and PBA with autonomous precrash braking (FCW + PBA + PB). The baseline ΔV was 17, 34, and 56.4 kph for median, severe, and U.S.-NCAP scenarios, respectively, and were based on crash reconstructions from NASS/CDS. Pulses were then developed based on the assumed precrash systems equipped. Restraint properties and the generic pulse used were based on literature.Results: In median crash severity cases, little to no risk (<10% risk for Abbreviated injury Scale [AIS] 3+) was found for all injury measures for both models. In the severe set of cases, little to no risk for AIS 3+ injury was also found for all injury measures. In NCAP cases, highest risk was typically found with No PCS and lowest with FCW + PBA + PB. In the higher intensity braking cases (1.0–1.4 g), head injury criterion (HIC), brain injury criterion (BrIC), and chest deflection injury measures increased with increased braking intensity. All other measures for these cases tended to decrease. The ATD also predicted and trended similar to the human body models predictions for both the median, severe, and NCAP cases. Forward excursion for both models decreased across median, severe, and NCAP cases and diverged from each other in cases above 1.0 g of braking intensity.Conclusions: The addition of precrash systems simulated through reduced precrash speeds caused reductions in some injury criteria, whereas others (chest deflection, HIC, and BrIC) increased due to a modified occupant position. The human model and ATD models trended similarly in nearly all cases with greater risk indicated in the human model. These results suggest the need for integrated safety systems that have restraints that optimize the occupant's position during precrash braking and prior to impact.

A study on the effect of airbag vent diameter on head injury criterion of driver airbag using experimenting and finite element method

Inflatable restraint systems have significant roles in the protection of the vehicle occupants during an accident. The performance of these components directly depends on the parameters of the cushion. An airbag vent is somehow an exhaust which releases gases within the airbag to the ambient. The diameter of the vent is a parameter in adjustment of the head injury criterion (HIC) of the airbag. In this research, a head form testing apparatus has been developed in order to perform the head impact test on deployed airbags in simulation validation procedure. A number of experimental and FEM head form tests are executed so as to endorse the accuracy of the FEM simulation through the validation procedure. The validated FEM model is utilised to analyse the effectiveness of the diameter of the vent in HIC of the airbag. An optimum value for vent diameter is obtained from the results of FEM tests.

A study on the effect of airbag vent diameter on head injury criterion of driver airbag using experimenting and finite element method

A study on the effect of airbag vent diameter on head injury criterion of driver airbag using experimenting and finite element method

A numerical study of passenger side airbag deployment based on arbitrary Lagrangian-eulerian method

The passenger side airbags (PAB) are usually larger than the driver airbags. Therefore, the inflator of PAB is more powerful with high mass rate. In this paper, an Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) method based computational method is developed to simulate the deployment of a PAB. The tank test is used to test the property of the inflator. Through comparison of numerical and experimental results, the ALE method is validated. Based on a failed airbag test, a smaller sub-airbag is placed inside PAB to disperse the gas flow to directions which are less damaging. By applying dynamic relaxation, the initial mesh corresponding to the experimental terms is obtained. The results indicate that the interior pressure and impact force coincide with the test data, and the method in this paper is capable of capturing airbag deploying process of the PAB module accurately.

Evaluation of Near-Side Oblique Frontal Impacts Using THOR With SD3 Shoulder

Objective: Within the EC Seventh Framework project THORAX, the Mod-Kit THOR was upgraded with a new thorax and shoulder. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the THOR ATD met a set of prerequisites to a greater extent than Hybrid III and by that measure whether the dummy could serve as a potential tool for future evaluation of serious head and chest injuries in near-side oblique frontal impacts.Method: A small-overlap/oblique sled system was used to reflect occupant forces observed in oblique frontal crashes. The head and thoracic response from THOR was evaluated for 3 combinations: belt only with no deformation of the driver's side door (configuration A), belt only in combination with a predeformed door (configuration B), and prepretensioning belt and driver airbag (PPT+DAB) in combination with a predeformed door (configuration C). To evaluate head injury risk, the head injury criterion (HIC) and brain injury criteria (BrIC) were used. For evaluation of the thoracic injury risk, 3 injury criteria proposed by the THORAX project were evaluated: Dmax, DcTHOR, and strain (dummy rib fractures).Results: Unlike Hybrid III, the THOR with SD3 shoulder interacted with the side structure in a near-side oblique frontal impact. HIC values for the 3 test configurations corresponded to a 90% (A) and 100% (B and C) risk of Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) 2+ head injury, and BrIC values resulted in a 100% risk of AIS 2+ head injury in configurations A and B. In C the risk was reduced to 75%. The AIS 2+ thoracic injury risks based on Dmax were similar (14–18%) for all tests. Based on DcTHOR, AIS 2+ injury risk increased from 29 to 53% as the predeformed door side was introduced (A to B), and the risk increased, to 64%, as a PPT+DAB was added (C). Considering the AIS 2+ injury risk based on strain, tests in A resulted in an average of 3 dummy rib fractures (17%). Introducing the predeformed door (B) increased the average of dummy fractures to 5 (39%), but in C the average number of dummy rib fractures decreased to 4 (28%).Conclusions: THOR with an SD3 shoulder should be the preferred ATD rather than the Hybrid III for evaluating head and thorax injuries in oblique frontal impacts. Thoracic interaction with the predeformed door was not well captured by the 3D IR-Traccs; hence, use of deflection as an injury predictor in oblique loading is insufficient for evaluating injury risk in this load case. However, injury risk evaluation may be performed using the strain measurements, which characterize loading from seat belt and airbag as well as the lateral contribution of the structural impact in the loading condition used in this study.

Development of Contour Size Detection System of Driver Airbag

A new detection system has been designed and developed for detecting the contour size of automobile driver airbag. The detection system is mainly composed of a CCD camera, optical system and a computer which can implement image processing and image recognition. This system uses a CCD sensor as its sensitive element, as well as the basic principle of image processing combined with image segmentation and template matching to determine whether the contour size of airbag is qualified. The experimental results show that the system improves the detecting precision, and speed of assembling automobile airbags. It also solves the problems of a heavy workload by manual operations, inaccurate judgments and low efficiency.

The Contour Size Detection of Driver Airbag Based on Image Processing Technology

In this paper we have developed a new methodology for detecting the contour size of driver airbag based on image processing technology and Machine vision. Through the CCD camera we can obtain the image, and then do the following operations by a computer, such as binarization, edge extraction and so on the other image preprocessing. This methodology uses intelligent template matching technology to detect the airbags and by comparing with the predefined parameter to determine whether the contour size is qualified .The experimental results show that: this new detection method solves the disadvantage of traditional detection method, such as the low detection efficiency, the detection precision is not high, the poor detection repeatability, the higher rate of detection miscarriage of justice.

Decision Fusion via Integrated Sensing System for a Smart Airbag Deployment Scheme

In this paper, we address the development of an integrated sensing system for the airbag deployment decision in an intelligent vehicle with focus on passenger and driver airbags in vehicles. The innovation provides a cost-effective system for deploying an airbag whilst maintaining precise, reliable and effective operation; in addition, it can be easily retrofitted into any vehicle with built-in airbag control. A number of sensing systems such as weight, vision and vehicle crash have been developed. The decision of several sensing systems are fused together to provide an exact airbag deployment decision. A LabWindow/CVI in the C interface program is developed for prototype implementation. The sensing systems are developed and integrated into a prototype platform. The performance of the prototype system is evaluated through several test runs. The results prove that the airbag deployment decision is unique, robust and intelligent for vehicle application.

A DESIGN OF THE DRIVER AIRBAG MODULE WITH FLOATING HORN ASSEMBLY

The driver airbag system is designed as a supplemental restraint system in addition to the seatbelt, and is designed to protect the driver's head and chest against severe injury by a device that is actuated in case of vehicle's fronted impact. Deployment of an airbag module with floating horn assembly is a highly dynamic process. The concept of driver airbag module with floating horn assembly and aluminum emblem is presented as a useful parameter when the airbag deploys and the energy is evaluated as performance factor in airbag module. Floating horn assembly is also one of the major factors for driver airbag module design to perform its horn function and check the package between driver airbag module and steering wheel. This study on the design of driver airbag module with floating horn assembly proved the feasibility as a new safety device. However, the system level study is needed for decrease of passenger injury. This study can be used for the implementation of a prototype of DABM with floating horn device.

Computational pregnant occupant model, ‘Expecting’, for crash simulations

A computational model of the pregnant occupant, which is capable of simulating the dynamic response to acceleration impacts, is introduced. The occupant model represents a 5th percentile female at around the 38th week of pregnancy. A finite element uterus and multi-body fetus is integrated into an existing female model to incorporate pregnant female anthropometry. The complete model, ‘Expecting’, is used to simulate a range of frontal impacts of increasing severity from 15km/h to 45km/h. Three levels of occupant restraint, completely unrestrained, three-point seat belt, and three-point seat belt with an airbag, are investigated. The strains developed in the uterus because of loading from the seat belt and steering-wheel unit are presented, together with an analysis of stress distribution due to inertial loading of the fetus on the uterus. The unrestrained cases are shown to be the most dangerous to the fetus, owing to the large interaction with the vehicle steering wheel at the level of the placenta. The use of a three-point seat belt together with a driver airbag appears to offer the greatest protection to the fetus.

A methodology for the simulation of out-of-position driver airbag deployment

This article reports on the initial results from a collaborative project undertaken jointly by Coventry University, Toyoda Gosei Europe NV and TNO Automotive UK Ltd., where a methodology has been developed to model and simulate with MADYMO the deployment of a driver airbag designed for out-of-position (OoP) occupants. The airbag used in this study was based on an innovative production airbag system design previously developed predominantly with physical testing. The computer models developed here are intended to provide airbag design engineers with simulation tools that can be used to investigate design improvements and performance optimisation. The work reported covered the determination of the physical properties of the airbag material, static and dynamic airbag testing, and model validation, using sophisticated finite element airbag models created through the use of both single and dual chambers. The simulation performed stretched the capabilities of the MADYMO solver and the Gas Flow (GF) module and contributed directly to enhancements in the latest MADYMO 6.2.2 software release. Future use of the airbag model developed here will involve integration with a 5th percentile model dummy, seat and restraint system models to create a predictive out-of-position modelling and simulation tool.