Crash test dummies are used in the development of almost all types of vehicles, simulating in the laboratory the effects that a car accident could have on the human body. Today these tests, as well as the use of mannequins, are mandatory everywhere for the homologation of a vehicle.
The Passive Safety Center of Capgemini Engineering , based in Austria, is known as a category A service provider for passive safety in the automotive industry, with over 20 years of experience. Thanks to the solid know-how in the areas of engineering, simulation, test and homologation, the company offers support to its customers all over the world from the first concept phase of the vehicle, up to the SOP. Capgemini Engineering is also known for the development and configuration of test systems.
By integrating vehicle safety into the entire development process, Capgemini Engineering can offer complete solutions for vehicle development. On this basis, it is able to offer state-of-the-art know-how regarding collision resistance, restraint systems and other internal and external elements related to passive safety, such as pedestrian protection and impact with involvement. of the head. Development can range from a single component up to a complete vehicle.
Positioning of crash test dummies with the aid of the Dummy Positioning Tool
Creaform offers a solution that helps bring the mannequins into the prescribed position faster. For this purpose, positioning adapters are applied to the manikin, which are then tracked by a camera system. In the app for positioning the manikins, deviations from the reference position are displayed in real time and simultaneously for all points and highlighted with colors: the manikin must be moved until all values are green. Distances can also be configured very easily. For example, the knees must be some distance apart. Once the manikin is configured, a protocol is created simultaneously for all measurement points at the push of a button.
In Capgemini Engineering this software program has been used since 2020, together with the MetraSCAN 3D Scanner and the HandyPROBE feeler probe , to measure complete vehicles and component assemblies, before and after an accident. In addition, test configurations are scanned before and after a crash test for evaluation and coordination of the test configuration with the customer.
Regarding the software, in addition to the manikin positioning tool, the data acquisition software VXelements by Creaform 3D and Polyworks by Innovmetric are used.
Before having the Creaform system, Capgemini Engineering used a camera-based measurement system, which however had functional limitations. For example, it needed a fixed metrology room which had to be calibrated with a great deal of time. With its solution, Creaform makes it possible to combine in a single system a feeler probe and a 3D scanner for the detection of accident vehicles.
Features and Benefits
3D scans have a broad spectrum of use:
- they are able to scan and reference large objects.
- they can represent even small objects with sufficient level of detail.
Touch probe and 3D scanning in one system:
- Easily combine 3D scans and feeler probes in one project.
- Same reference for scanning and feeler probe. Deviations between scanning and probing are therefore excluded.
Easy to use and well documented interface to VXelements:
- Capgemini Engineering enterprise software tools such as FMH Wizard can be easily implemented.
Capgemini Engineering is very satisfied with Creaform's flexible crash test measurement solution, which is used both in the internal test laboratory and on the Capgemini Engineering crash test track. The time savings during measurement are also enormous.
Manfred Harrer, Senior Test Expert of Capgemini Engineering, summarizes the advantages as follows: "Thanks to the ability to create 3D scans quickly and easily, more and more often (especially in times of Coronavirus) the test configuration is coordinated with the customer through of 3D scans. In addition, test projects carried out together with the internal engineering department are processed more efficiently, thanks to the possibility of 3D scanning each test configuration. Unlike the camera system used in the past, in the Creaform solution the reference is located on the vehicle and this allows it to be measured independently of the metrology room or a metrology wall and without the need for fixing. Previously, however, during the measurement the vehicle was not available for other preparations. Creaform's measurement system allows work to be carried out on the vehicle in parallel with the measurement, resulting in increased efficiency ”.
Source: https://www.creaform3d.com/blog/it/posizionamento-dei-manichini-da-crash-test/
