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Recently, Toyota announced that it will further develop the THUMS (Total Human Model for Safety) software program, which is mainly used to simulate and analyze human injuries caused by vehicle collisions.
Toyota's latest development takes into account changes in people's riding posture when using autonomous driving systems.
▲THUMS model construction
The latest seventh version of THUMS improves the systematic model of the human body (male, female, and pediatric) to more accurately represent the geometry and properties of key body parts, including the pelvis, abdominal organs, spine, and ribs. The program can further predict the impact of a crash on human bones, organs and muscles when the occupant is in a reclining position, and reproduce how passengers change position and tight muscles when safety systems such as emergency braking and steering control are activated.
▲ The evolution of THUMS
The program also takes into account changes in people's posture as autonomous driving systems emerge. For example, SAE L3 level ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) allows the car to perform most of the driving tasks autonomously, so the driver can sit back and relax. When a person is in a reclining position, the body reacts differently to the seat and restraint system. Even in the event of a collision when the passenger returns to a seated position, the change in posture during the process can have a significantly different effect in a collision, causing different types of injuries.
New features make computerized crash simulations more accurate and help develop more effective safety measures.
Sabine Compigne, Technical Manager of Safety Research at Toyota's R&D department, explains: "Special care must be taken to ensure that the pelvis remains in its seat in the event of a crash. This is essential to avoid the "dive effect", as passengers who slip out of the belt are at risk of abdominal injury. Good pelvic maintenance helps limit compression to the spine and thus prevent spinal injury."
The working principles of the THUMS program are also valuable for safety research in other areas of transportation, such as trains and aviation. Toyota recognizes this and will disclose this technology free of charge starting in 2021 to help create a safer mobility society in the future.
What is THUMS?
THUMS (Total Human Model for Safety) is a human finite element model jointly developed by Toyota Motor Corporation and Toyota Central R&D Laboratory, THUMS can simulate human injuries such as fractures, brain and internal organ damage in vehicle collisions. Compared to physical crash dummies commonly used in vehicle crash testing, THUMS is able to analyze collision-related injuries in more detail because it accurately represents the shape and durability of the human body.
THUMS has evolved to add a range of models of different genders, ages and constitutions, including bone structure, brain, internal organs and muscles.
History of THUMS: