safetytoyota.com

Overview

THUMS (Total Human Model for Safety) is a virtual human model developed by Toyota Motor Corporation and Toyota Central R&D Labs. The model helps to better understand injury mechanisms in actual car crashes that were difficult to analyze with current crash test dummies. The study results will be used for further improvement of car crash safety.

THUMS is more human-like.

THUMS simulates not only the external shape of the human body but also its inside structures such as bones and soft tissues.

Commentary 1

Crash test dummies are widely used to estimate impact severity to car occupants or pedestrians in car crashes. The dummies can measure the force and acceleration applied to its body during the impact, but they cannot simulate injuries of human body tissues.

Toyota had decided to developed a computer model representing the human body, which can simulate injuries that are observed in actual car crashes. The model had to includes bony parts, ligaments, tendons, flesh parts and muscular system to achieve the target.

Car crash simulations were conducted using THUMS to examine the validity of the model. It was confirmed that the model was able to predict common injuries that were reported in accident data analysis.

Role of THUMS

Contributing to further development of safety technologies.

Commentary 2

THUMS is used to better understand injury mechanisms of occupants and pedestrians in car crashes. The findings from the study are helpful to develop advanced safety technologies such as airbags, seat belt systems, and vehicle body structures. In a study of low speed rear impacts, for example, THUMS was used to examine the effectiveness of the newly developed WIL seat concept to help lessen whiplash injury risk.

THUMS basically represents an adult male occupant/pedestrian with an average body size. The model is now being extended to include other body sizes and female subjects to simulate various road users and to cover a wider area of crash scenarios.

Further improvement of crash safety

Commentary 3

In 1997, Toyota Motor Corporation and Toyota Central R&D Labs started to develop THUMS Body component models were generated carefully duplicating the human body geometry. After integrating the component models into a full-body and verifying the quality of the model by comparing to literature data, the occupant model was completed in 2000 and was put on the market. Currently there are more than thirty users in the world, including car companies and research institutes. Technical papers have been submitted to major conferences and journals in this area.

In the future, Toyota plans to incorporate internal organ and brain data into THUMS. It continues to be one of Toyota's challenges to further improve car crash safety and to make cars more friendly to people.