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This paper presents a detailed numerical model of the human body that can be used to evaluate both safety and comfort aspects of vehicle interiors. The model is based on a combination of rigid body and finite element techniques to provide an optimal combination of computational efficiency and accuracy. All main articulations are implemented and the skin is modelled in detail to provide accurate interactions with the vehicle interior, such as seat, belts, and airbag. The biofidelity of the model has been verified extensively for both crash safety and seating comfort loading, using volunteer and PMHS data. Detailed models of various body parts can be incorporated to study the response of these body parts in more detail. The human models has been used to study and improve vehicle passive safety design for a range of accident scenarios, in particular for those loading scenarios where the current crash dummies are considered insufficiently biofidelic. Ongoing developments include further enhancement of scalability, injury predictive capabilities, and modularity of detailed component models. The human model is aimed to provide a virtual testing tool for integrated safety and ergonomics design. The human model could also be applied in sports and personal protection design.

The importance of comfort for the automotive industry is increasing. Car manufacturers use comfort to distinguish their products from their competitors. However, the development and design of a new car seat or interior is very time consuming and expensive. The introduction of computer models of human and seat could accelerate this process. This paper describes the application of the MADYMO human model for one aspect relating to comfort, i.e. vibrations. A validation of the multibody 50th percentile human model for vertical vibrations was performed based on volunteer experiments. The model response shows good correlation with the volunteer responses. Investigation of forces acting on the intervertebral discs shows that maximum loading appears in the lumbar spine and the lower thoracic spine.

The importance of comfort for the automotive industry is increasing. Car manufacturers use comfort to distinguish their products from their competitors. However, the development and design of a new car seat or interior is very time consuming and expensive. The introduction of computer models of human and seat could accelerate this process. This paper describes the application of the MADYMO human model for one aspect relating to comfort, i.e. vibrations. A validation of the multibody 50th percentile human model for vertical vibrations was performed based on volunteer experiments. The model response shows good correlation with the volunteer responses. Investigation of forces acting on the intervertebral discs shows that maximum loading appears in the lumbar spine and the lower thoracic spine.