Small Female, Large Male Join the Toyota Digital Dummy Family

Toyota is using virtual humans to deliver crash test results in much greater detail than is achievable with conventional crash-test dummies. They are dubbed THUMS (Total HUman Model for Safety) and allow highly detailed analysis of bone fractures, severed ligaments, etc. by simulating many characteristics of the human body − ranging from the shape of the body to its skeletal structure and skin.

Now, the THUMS family has just expanded with the addition of a small female and a large male. The new models of a 153cm tall female and a 189cm tall male thus join the existing 179cm tall, average-build adult male in THUMS.

All three models come in two types − a vehicle occupant and pedestrian − bringing the total number of models to six.  It is now possible to take into account different body sizes when conducting analyses of internal injuries caused by car accidents.

Beginning this summer, the small female and large male models will be marketed to universities through Toyota Technical Development Corporation and to private companies through consultant, JSOL Corporation.
As part of its vision to eliminate traffic fatalities and injuries, Toyota will apply the results of THUMS tests to develop safer vehicles. Toyota has plans to add an elderly person and a child model to make an even more diverse range of testing possible.

“By creating precise models of various internal organs, including their positions and how they interconnect, Toyota was able to develop a virtual human model containing approximately 14 times more information than the previous version.  This increased detail allows finer understanding of how damage is inflicted to internal organs during a collision,” Toyota explains.