The flaw that I see with crash test dummies for the automotive industry is that they calmly lie there completely dormant at the time of impact. So when we see some of the tests where the occupant is sliding through their seatbelt and under the dashboard only to be crushed between the seat and floorboard, nobody seems to take into consideration that the driver will be gripping the wheel as he braces himself with his locked arms and legs, thus avoiding a worst case scenario.
So I'm introducing the Realistic Robotic Crash Test Dummy™ that is pre-programmed to react 2 seconds before the time of impact as any human being would. He could even be programmed to yell out some expletives and show some surprised looks of emotion as he gets closer to the point of impact. The dummies would also exhibit many of the maneuverability of the vehicle such as hard breaking or last-second steering that might affect the outcome of the occupant's injuries in a real world situation. And while we are at it, why not add in some of the distractions and angry responses leading up to a crash.?-- Jscotty, Jan 30 2011 Fatal Auto Collision Song Fatal_20Auto_20Collision_20Song [hippo, Jan 30 2011] Exactly! That's what makes this invention brilliant! You can program a variety of responses by doing several crash tests. Then you can evaluate what will happen if the occupant cowers vs. if they actually try to steer out of it. You will probably wreck 30+ cars before it's all over but you will have some remarkable data from using various scenarios.-- Jscotty, Jan 30 2011 Interesting idea. Although I'm thinking it doesn't go far enough. Yes, program it for all the different possible reactions someone might have, but why stop there?
How about making one a 400 pound Aunt Edna dummy, who, upon seeing the crash coming, turns around and reminds her dummy nieces "...See why I keep telling you to wear fresh underwear?..." Or maybe a couple of stoner dummies, one of which is trying to keep a hash pipe lit. Maybe throw in a seven foot pro basketball dummy; but that one would have to be accompanied by a posse of beautiful women dummies.
Boy, this is gonna crash a LOT of cars.
Bun [+].-- Grogster, Jan 30 2011 …or one who, in the moments before the crash, is frantically flicking through his CDs looking for his Fatal Auto Collision Song (cf.).-- hippo, Jan 30 2011 Don't make them too realistic, otherwise the smell in the crashed vehicle and the stained seat squabs will make impact analysis much less pleasant than previously ...-- 8th of 7, Jan 30 2011 Actually, it would be fairly easy to make crash test dummies exactly the same as they are now, but with a look of utter terror on their faces. Current models of crash test dummy have a placid, calm expression which sort of looks wrong.-- hippo, Jan 30 2011 Take it from a former seat belt engineer who got to watch crash sled testing: bracing yourself with locked arms and legs isn't going to make any difference, especially when the airbag goes off.-- RayfordSteele, Jan 30 2011 If you want to make the dummies realistic, they would need simulated muscles and intelligent control.
This would add to the simulation in that they would sustain the broken wrists etc. which result from attempts to brace themselves. This would also prove RayfordSteele's point that the few Newtons of force generated by the arms is no match for the several kN experienced in a crash.
Of course, once the dummies were that intelligent, you'd have trouble getting them into a car when they see that it's on a track with a deformable barrier at the other end.-- Twizz, Jan 31 2011 //…or one who// ...jumps out of the car and runs off down the street because they are uninsured/drunk/driving a stolen vehicle.-- DrBob, Jan 31 2011 // especially when the airbag goes off. //
... and even more so when the airbag doesn't go off.-- 8th of 7, Jan 31 2011 Actually bracing yourself makes things WORSE. As proven by the drunk driver who makes a horrific mess of things and just walks away because the lethargic reaction time caused him/her to act more like a test dummy.-- AutoMcDonough, Jan 31 2011 random, halfbakery