The world’s pioneer of vehicle occupant safety acquires the world’s leader in human ergonomic digital design.
Humanetics Group, the global leader in safety testing and developer of biofidelic crash test dummies, software modeling and custom sensor solutions, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Human Solutions GmbH and Avalution GmbH, leaders in virtual ergonomics design software. Through the acquisition, Humanetics Group adds critical tools used by vehicle designers around the globe to develop safe, comfortable and ergonomically pleasing interior environments for occupants. Human Solutions and Avalution will continue to be led by the current management team from their headquarters in Kaiserslautern, Germany, and satellite offices in Munich and Cary, North Carolina.
For nearly 20 years, Human Solutions has led the mobility sector as the market standard for virtual ergonomics design through its RAMSIS software. Avalution is a specialist in 3D body scanning and has the largest international database of human body dimensions and shapes with over 100,000 custom body scans. The combined tools are used by most major vehicle manufacturers, aerospace companies and defense groups. By leveraging its proprietary Avalution database, RAMSIS users create virtual vehicle interiors and custom 3D CAD avatars that realistically simulate vehicle occupants to evaluate ergonomics and comfort parameters during the early stage of prototype development. Both are also used extensively throughout the fashion industry as well as in the design of sports equipment and corporate uniforms and industrial clothing.
Christopher O’Connor, President and CEO of Humanetics Group, said, “We are thrilled to welcome Human Solutions and Avalution to the Humanetics Group. There are natural complementary synergies with our solutions, customers and capabilities. Humanetics and Human Solutions share a unique purpose that puts humans at the center of design and innovation. Both companies create highly sophisticated models of human bodies that enable engineers to design vehicles that keep humans safe, in proper position and in full control of the vehicle at critical moments in the driving experience.”
What will the future bring?
“Combining safety and ergonomic design and testing validation together is revolutionary. In the next 10 years, our customers have a huge challenge to launch fleets of electrified vehicles with more advanced levels of semi-autonomous driving capabilities. We will help them accelerate their speed to market with our simulation models and physical testing tools and ultimately through the integration safety and ergonomics together in a turn-key offering. With the largest global database of scanned bodies, we can also help improve the equitable safety and comfort for all occupants. And with the Humanetics Group global footprint, we can offer local support to RAMSIS customers in every market around the world,” added O’Connor.
The founder of Human Solutions and Avalution, Dr. Andreas Seidl, will continue to lead both companies as Managing Director. “For us, the integration into the Humanetics Group family of companies is the logical result of our ongoing corporate strategy”, noted Dr. Andreas Seidl. “We have completed several joint projects in the past, so we are confident in the synergies of our expertise and cultures. By joining forces, we can maximize the value of our data and ergonomics expertise and make it available for other areas of vehicle development in the future, such as autonomous driving which entails entirely different vehicle occupant requirements."
Jeff Lewis, Chief Commercial Officer of Humanetics Group commented, “By adding these critical ergonomics design tools, the industry will be better able to address the increased risk of injury of many occupant groups of different gender, height, weight and age. This is not simply a marginal improvement – it is a paradigm shift in safety design. It will enable OEMs to maximize comfort, ergonomics and safety for a broader range of occupants. Further, with these developments, we will bring the power of machine learning and simulation to the heart of equitable safety in transport. This will enable our customers to develop vehicles that further reduce injuries, especially among more vulnerable occupants.”
The acquisition does not include the sister companies of Human Solutions and Avalution - Assyst GmbH, AVM GmbH and Sistemi Assyst (Lainate/Italy) - which will remain independent. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
For more information visit our website at https://humanetics.humaneticsgroup.com/ or reach out to our contact below.
About Humanetics Group
The Humanetics Group is a leading provider of precision test systems and sensor solutions through its subsidiaries Humanetics Innovative Solutions, HITEC Sensor Developments, Optek Systems and Fibercore. For over 65 years, Humanetics has been the leading global designer, manufacturer and supplier of crash test dummies and calibration equipment, crash sensors and instrumentation and crash simulation software models. Humanetics also offers a growing portfolio of active safety testing products for ADAS and autonomous vehicles, including over-runnable test platforms and driving robots. Subsidiary HITEC Sensor Developments designs and manufactures custom force, load, torque and pressure electrical strain gage and fiber optic sensor solutions and provide advanced strain gage application services. Fibercore manufactures the most comprehensive suite of specialty optical fibers used in a broad and growing range of applications including fiber optic gyroscopes (FOGs), fiber optic hydrophones, fiber lasers, fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) and embedded sensors. Optek Systems is the technological leader in advanced laser processing technologies, manufacturing optical fiber assemblies as well as fiber processing and micro-machining equipment. The Humanetics Group has over 900 employees across 27 facilities strategically located around the world with the global corporate headquarters situated in Farmington Hills, Michigan, USA.
Contact Humanetics Group
Barney Loehnis
CMO, Humanetics Group
Cell: +1 203 246 1397
About Human Solutions
Human Solutions GmbH, based in Kaiserslautern, Germany, is the creator of RAMSIS, the world's leading digital manikin, with which vehicle interiors can be optimally designed to meet ergonomic requirements. The top 30 companies in the automotive industry work with software solutions from Human Solutions. The company also brings its ergonomics simulation expertise to other industries, including the ergonomic design of industrial workplaces. Human Solutions is active all over the world, with around 35 employees at the Kaiserslautern, Munich & Morrisville (USA) sites and partners in many other countries.
Contact, Human Solutions GmbH
Alexandra Seidl
Phone: +49 631 343 593-21
alexandra.seidl@human-solutions.com