Realistic articulation, positioning and simulation of Human Body Models using Oasys LS-DYNA tools

The application of human body models (HBMs) in numerical simulation offers exciting opportunities in automotive development in areas such as comfort, ergonomics, and safety. These models are used to simulate human body kinematics and injury responses and risks in a variety of simulated impact scenarios. The industry leading THUMS and GHBMC family of models are usually provided in two standard postures – occupant and pedestrian. The occupant posture is typically a driving posture in an up-right position, whereas the pedestrian is a walking posture with fixed arm and leg angles. These standard postures are limiting and do not reflect the diversity of postures which an occupant or pedestrian can assume at the point of a collision. Furthermore, current trends in vehicle automation are also expected to give rise to new seating postures such as forward or backward facing reclined seats. A major challenge for users, however, is that these models are not provided with pre-configured information to aid positioning making it a very difficult and time-consuming effort.