Next-Gen Safety Simulations with the HBM Connect™ Family
Human body models enable crash test engineers to simulate and analyze the behavior of the human body during a crash or other impact event. By using HBMs, engineers can better understand how different vehicle designs and safety systems will affect the human body, allowing them to make informed decisions when optimizing those systems. This not only saves time and resources compared to traditional testing methods, but also allows for a more detailed and accurate analysis.
Karsten Newbury, president of Humanetics Digital, offered his perspective on why Humanetics has developed this solution: “We have an ambitious vision to better integrate simulation and data management tools with the physical crash testing process. This ‘virtual-real closed loop’ is critical to both advancing occupant safety and vehicle development efficiency. Partnerships are key to making rapid progress. This program has been a collaboration between the best technology, the best engineers and the most demanding customers.”
We have an ambitious vision to better integrate simulation and data management tools with the physical crash testing process. This ‘virtual-real closed loop’ is critical to both advancing occupant safety and vehicle development efficiency.
-Karsten Newbury, president of Humanetics Digital
The outcome is HBM Connect, a new HBM from Humanetics developed to assess and predict injury. Humanetics and its partners, DSD and Virtual Vehicle, have validated HBM Connect against real-world crash data to ensure that it accurately predicts the behavior of the human body during an event by collecting and analyzing crash data from actual accidents and comparing the results to the simulation data. Unlike other HBMs in the market which are suitable for complex research, this model is specifically designed to be fast, without compromising on the detail needed for crash test certification.
What makes the Humanetics solution different? Bachar Aljundi, chief product officer, Humanetics Digital says, “It’s important to understand that HBM Connect was designed with product engineers in mind. Its speed and focused application are especially significant qualities derived from what is critical to the simulation community as they assess and predict injury for safety and commercial purposes. Engineers can appreciate its advanced integration and stability with other compatible simulation tools, such as vehicle crash simulation software and occupant restraint system simulators. It will cut run time and computing time by up to 40% and is ready for regulatory integration.”
It’s important to understand that HBM Connect was designed with product engineers in mind. Its speed and focused application are especially significant qualities derived from what is critical to the simulation community as they assess and predict injury for safety and commercial purposes.
-Bachar Aljundi, chief product officer, Humanetics Digital
With recent developments within the safety testing world, progressive vehicle ratings programs like Euro NCAP and C-NCAP are now introducing virtual testing with human body models and will begin their monitoring as soon as 2026, making virtual testing mandatory before the decade ends.
Aljundi continues, “The recent NCAP developments are a clear signal of the importance of human body models in future evaluations of vehicle safety. We’ve historically aligned virtual evaluation with the physical ATDs in crash testing to decrease fatalities, but the desire to get more data and clarity on human injury parameters is requiring greater modeling of body dynamics and frailties. HBM Connect will give safety engineers confidence because it is a natural extension of the ATD.
Another interesting and powerful feature of HBM Connect is that it seamlessly links to the world’s largest 3D CAD manikin data library, Ramsis. This database allows engineers to transfer occupant posture, decide where occupants will sit in a vehicle and enable ergonomic data application for realistic human interaction simulations. This functionality also helps to develop more specialized models that are tailored to specific populations such as tall, larger, elderly drivers, along with various impact scenarios, by utilizing the largest body scan libraries in the world
After 30 years in development in the lab, Humanetics has created an HBM that can be used commercially to make improvements in safety design for all occupants and meet the needs of the safety community. The groundbreaking HBM Connect™ now includes both a 50th percentile adult male and a 5F representing the 5th percentile adult female. Humanetics continues to add features and new family member sizes.
Mark Brown
Mark is the Product Marketing Manager at Humanetics Safety and works closely with Engineering and Sales to develop and refine content that is both useful and informative for our industry. With over two decades of experience in crash test dummy product Quality, Technical, Sales, and Marketing, Mark produces a wide range of media and publications including our service bulletins, webinars, editorial articles, and contributes to our marketing collateral.