General Motors has added five new “anthropomorphic test devices” — crash test dummies — to its pool of dummies. What make these dummies special is that they are smarter than the dummies of the past. The new dummies come with internal data recorders capable of collecting 10,000 samples of crash data per second for each of the 24 data channels.

“We have progressed from data recorders the size of phone booths 10 years ago to the size of a shoe box that we put on the vehicle,” said Jack Jensen, engineering group manager in charge of the ATD laboratory at GM’s Milford Proving Ground. “Now, that same capability has been reduced to the size of a cell phone and is contained on the dummy itself.”

While older dummies have cumbersome cables connecting them to the data recorders, them which restricted their movement and usefulness. “These dummies aren’t encumbered by 50 pounds of wires and can move around more freely, the way a person would in a crash,” Jensen said.

The i-Dummies — the “i” referring to the integrated electronics — cost about $125,000 each, they are easier to move around, which will save time during testing and allow tests to be completed faster.

## Source: General Motors ##

Posted in: GM, Safety, Technology, Etc
RSS 2.0 Feed | Comments | Permalink |  Email This Post