Crash test dummies from BW are intended to reduce accidents and their consequences

Statistics show that our roads are becoming safer. In 1970, around 20,000 people died in traffic across the country, but today the number is less than 3,000. In Baden-Württemberg, there were 369 road deaths last year. Politicians and industry want to bring the numbers down even further. Crash tests and life-sized dummies, which simulate the effects of traffic accidents on the human body – so-called crash test dummies – are making an important contribution.

Heidelberg company develops crash test dummies

Before the dummies are subjected to real crash tests at the car manufacturers, they are rammed in the laboratory. The aim is to precisely adjust the sensors, as in a calibration. For example, the dummy is hit in the face with a defined weight of around 10 kilograms at a speed of 25 kilometers per hour. The sensors installed inside the dummy must deliver the corresponding measured values. These are predefined and those responsible check whether everything is working as planned.

A dummy of the latest generation costs around one million euros. The high sum is currently due to the high development costs: the Heidelberg-based company Humanetics has to carry out many experiments to build a human-like dummy. The built-in technology also incurs costs. Up to 200 sensors are built into a dummy. Small measuring points everywhere show how the forces act in which direction.

Car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz is a customer of Humanetics

Car manufacturers around the world use crash test dummies from Humanetics, including Mercedes-Benz. The Stuttgart-based car manufacturer is testing a frontal crash between two fully electric vehicles. In this test, three of the four dummies were female – a relatively new trend. EU legislation does not yet stipulate that new cars must be tested on female dummies. However, the Heidelberg dummy manufacturers are already preparing a corresponding product.

Autonomous driving brings new challenges for dummy manufacturers

For many years, the tests have been carried out primarily on male dummies. They will become more diverse in the future. In addition, progress is already bringing the next task. In the future, Humanetics from Heidelberg will be increasingly involved in autonomous driving. The technology will mean that people will no longer sit as upright behind the wheel as before. The dummies of the future must also be able to lie down rather than sit. In this way, the Heidelberg company will also make its contribution to the goal of “zero traffic fatalities”.