AutomatonOK, so crash test dummies are not robots; they are more like human-shaped sensor-packed devices. They can sense their "environment" (that would be a car during a crash) but they can't walk around and strap themselves to a vehicle. Yet.
Dummies are getting smarter, as we report in Anatomy of a Crash Test Dummy this month in Spectrum. They're carrying more sensors (called load cells) and gathering better data.
Below a movie we captured during our visit to Denton ATD, one of the word's leading makers of crash test dummies. This side impact experiment uses an EuroSID 2 dummy. The metal thing hitting the dummy is called the "impactor probe." Ouch.
Continue reading to see more photos of Spectrum's visit to Denton.
Mold and a vinyl foot.
Body parts ready for assembly.
More body parts.
Assembly workbench.
Dummies to receive replacement parts.
Torso flexion test.
Dummy heads.
Dummy getting ready for tests.
Load cell metal casings.
Sacrum-iliac load cell for the WorldSID dummy.
More load cells.
Denton manager Ryan Pote shows chest band with load cells.
Frida and Fred.
They again.
Detail of Frida's arm.
Whose body parts are these?
Dummy waiting to get certified.
Randy Kelly explains how the neck-test contraption works.
Child dummy waits replacement parts.
My hand holding a dummy hand.
Those shoes cost US $125.
Editor: Erico Guizzo
Contributor: Mikell Taylor
Contributor: Markus Waibel
Contributor: John Palmisano
See also