We've gathered a large set of data on the responses of front-seat passengers to unexpected hard braking and other abrupt vehicle maneuvers. These data will be valuable for developing and tuning active human body models that can simulate occupant responses during crash-avoidance actions triggered by vehicle automation. Pilot data we gathered last year showed that head excursions exceeding 200 mm were observed during hard braking, even with normally positioned passengers who are properly belted. Movements of this magnitude may have important implications for the design of restraint systems. The primary focus is determine whether restraint systems, including seat belts and airbags, need to be improved to handle occupants who are out of the expected position.
These videos were created using data from a single Microsoft Kinect sensor mounted in the vehicle cabin. We are using methods developed at UMTRI to fit subject-specific avatars to these data to obtain accurate head and torso kinematics during the events.