Decades of research lead to industrial breakthrough

The world's two leading manufacturers of crash test dummies are now competing to industrialise female crash test dummies developed under the leadership of VTI and Professor Astrid Linder. At the same time, interest is increasing among international crash safety organisations in using the new test equipment.

The world's first female crash test dummy of average size, the SET 50F, received a lot of attention when it was presented at an international road safety conference in the autumn of 2022. The work led to Astrid Linder, who was responsible for the development work, being named one of the world's 100 most influential and inspiring women by the BBC.

Now the British company Cellbond, the world's second largest manufacturer of equipment for crash tests, has built its own demonstration example of the SET 50F. The dummy was recently presented at an international conference for biomechanics, IRCOBI, and the goal is to commercialize the product in the long term. At the same time, a demonstration example of the male counterpart, the SET 50M, is being built.

SET stands for Seat Evaluation Tool and 50 for a median value of real women's and men's height, weight and proportions..

"These dummies will now be offered to vehicle manufacturers, crash laboratories and road safety organisations for evaluation. The aim is both to provide the industry and testing organisations the possibility to familiarise themselves with the new tools and to provide feedback for further development," says Astrid Linder, who met with representatives of the company during the conference.

In parallel with Cellbond's work, the American company Humanetics – which dominates the world market – has built crash test dummies based on a virtual model of an average female dummy, EvaRID. Five dummies, named EvaRID-50F, have been produced so far. EvaRID was presented as early as 2012 and was developed under the leadership of Astrid Linder together with, among others, Humanetics.

The crash test dummy is described by the company as a "milestone" and a way for car manufacturers to take women's anatomy into account early on in the development of seats and head restraints. "Relying exclusively on male model crash test dummies in rear-end collisions is no longer a sustainable strategy in the long term," the company writes on its website.

In other words, Astrid Linder can now see two of her crash test dummies – one virtual and one physical – take shape in real products.

"Of course, it's very encouraging . That's the goal of our research, that it really gets to be used," she says, without revealing whether she has a favourite of her own.

"(Laughter). No, I don't. The SET50F has some options, including twisting of the spine, that EvaRID doesn't have. But tests can be done in different ways, and it's good to have diversity among manufacturers. The important thing is that these steps are taken by the crash test dummy manufacturers.

International road safety organisations in the US, Europe and China are also growing in interest in a broader and more representative crash test. For example, the Euro NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme) is discussing a more robust testing, which could include equipment representing both genders. In China, C-NCAP plans to introduce testing elements with a female crash test dummy in 2027 in the evaluation of whiplash injuries.

If the interest is to be transformed into formally binding requirements, a decision on the design of the regulations in the UN is required. This issue is being pursued by the Swedish Transport Agency and is currently being considered by a working group in Geneva.

"There is also a great deal of interest among car manufacturers. Several manufacturers today have seats with protection that could be identified in a more robust testing of new cars" says Astrid Linder and adds:

"These are multi-step processes; I have been working on this since the early 2000s."

The development of the SET-dummy took place within the EU project VIRTUAL, Open Access Virtual Testing Protocols for Enhanced Road User Safety. EvaRID was developed within the project ADSEAT, Adaptive Seat to Reduce Neck Injuries for Female and Male Occupant. It was also an EU-funded project. In addition, national funding has been received from VINNOVA, the Swedish Transport Administration, the Swedish Signage Fund, the Folksam Research Foundation and VTI.

The research has been conducted in collaboration with both industry and academia—in Sweden and internationally—and in close cooperation with Professor Mats Svensson at Chalmers.

Read an interview with Astrid Linder (in Swedish): "We have created the problem, but we can also solve it"

Below are some pictures of EvaRID-50F and C SET50F from the manufacturers Humanetics and Cellbond:

The companies: "Pioneering work"

Chris O'Connor, CEO of Humanetics:

"EvaRID has now progressed well beyond the initial research stage. Humanetics has built five physical devices, with successful evaluations conducted with CAERI, CATARC and Euro NCAP, and further evaluation planned with IIHS. The progress of EvaRID demonstrates what can happen when strong biomechanical research - in this case led by the pioneering work of Dr Astrid Linder - is translated into practical, repeatable tools that vehicle manufacturers and safety organizations can evaluate and ultimately integrate into their safety development processes."

Mike Ashmead, founder and chairman of the board of Cellbond:

"It has been a genuine pleasure to work with Professor Astrid Linder and the team at VTI to help advance this groundbreaking technology. The SET-50F is the culmination of decades of research and marks an important step towards ensuring that women are better represented in vehicle safety testing. At Cellbond, we are proud to play a role in translating this pioneering work into a practical solution for the global automotive industry. We believe that our new C-SET models will help improve the industry's understanding of the differing needs and responses of female and male occupants, enabling the design of safer vehicles and helping to deliver better protection for everyone on the road."