Ref.: 919

ISO unveils WorldSID: the world's smartest crash test dummy gains international acceptance

2004-06-23

Improved vehicle design and increased passenger safety are among the benefits expected from the world's first internationally accepted side-impact crash test dummy that made its official debut on 22 June 2004 in Geneva, Switzerland following a meeting of the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations.

The crash test dummy, known as WorldSID (for World Side Impact Dummy), was presented to experts of ISO technical committee ISO/TC 22, Road vehicles, the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), and the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) by the ISO task group overseeing its development (ISO WorldSID Task Group).

WorldSID, which has been under development since 1997, represents a major breakthrough in worldwide harmonization of side impact occupant protection. It will:

• eliminate the use of different dummies in different regions of the world
• enable a common and internationally accepted regulatory test procedure for side-impact collisions, eliminating the current use of different dummies that gives rise to varying crash standards, and
• increase passenger safety by providing automakers and researchers with an improved simulation of human responses in collisions and serve as a tool for developing improved systems and automotive designs.

Edmund Hautmann, European Chair of the ISO WorldSID Task Group, explains its significance: "WorldSID's biofidelity, a measure of how well the dummy simulates the forces and motions of a human, is the best of any side impact crash dummy to date and far exceeds that of others."

"In addition, as a major benefit of harmonization, introduction of a single universal dummy into regulations and consumer testing in all regions would enable manufacturers to focus and coordinate resources to improve worldwide occupant safety, rather than engineering different safety designs for different dummies."

Chairs of the ISO WorldSID Task Group at the presentation of the crash test dummy.
From left to right:
Edmund Hautmann, European Chair,
Risa Scherer, Americas Chair and
Akihiko Akiyama, Asia-Pacific Chair

 

WorldSID heralds a significant improvement in the ability of crash dummies to duplicate human motions and responses in side impact tests. Its 214 sensors capture data more than 10 000 times per second and store the information in special memory boards inside the dummy, making it the most advanced (and probably the smartest) crash test dummy in the world.

ISO Secretary-General Alan Bryden commented: "WorldSID provides another example of how harmonization has now become more important than ever before in today's interconnected and interdependent global economy. We are proud to have enabled this international consensual development, which will assist efforts to improve and verify safety of vehicles. It would not have been possible without the strong cooperation between industry, test laboratories and government."

This first-of-its-kind project was developed by the ISO WorldSID Task Group, consisting of experts from industry and governments from three regional advisory groups: Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas. The Task Group is chaired, in turn, by each of the chairpersons of the three regional groups.

To ensure that the WorldSID is available to the worldwide vehicle research community, an International Standard is being developed by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 22, Road vehicles, subcommittee, SC 12, Passive safety crash protection systems, working group, WG 5, Anthropomorphic test devices.

ISO 15830, which will consist of four parts under the general title, Design and performance specifications for a 50th percentile male side impact dummy (WorldSID), will include all of the design details, material specifications, and performance standards required for the fabrication of the WorldSID. ISO/TC 22/SC 12, WG 5 expects to publish the standard in 2005.

More information:

• WorldSID Update, June 2004 (PDF, 173 KB)
• Presentation by Edmund Hautmann, European Chair of WorldSID (PPT, 7'917 KB)