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We believe that the future of human body testing in military and civilian applications is in using a new generation of “dummies” - “virtual humans”. CFDRC's CMB (Computational Medicine and Biology) research group has developed an integrated bioinformatics software framework for intelligent analysis of biomedical databases, generation of geometrical models for simulations, and modeling setup for human biomechanical and physiological performance. The integrated 3D Java based software framework is a fully user-interactive Virtual Body framework for creation and editing the Virtual Body and acting as a front end for multi-scale anthropometry/anatomy physics based simulation software. This paper presents a software framework for visual manipulation and processing of human body anthropometric, skeletal, joint, skin, vascular and other anatomical databases.

Civilian American and European Surface Anthropometry Resource (CAESAR) (Robinette, et al., 2002) is an anthropometric database containing the latest civilian population survey of three countries representing the NATO countries: the United States of America, The Netherlands, and Italy. There are many potential applications for the CAESAR database in the anthropometry, ergonomics, and biometrics fields because it provides individual and standardized one-mode data instead of summarized population information such as percentiles. However, people are not using CAESAR more frequently because it is too difficult to access at present. To facilitate the sharing of this valuable resource, the CARD Lab (Computerized Anthropometric Research and Design Laboratory) in the Air Force Research Laboratory has been developing a web application, ARIS (Anthropometry Research Information Systems), to offer CAESAR data search and analysis as well as raw data visualization and extraction.

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Biodynamics Data Bank (BDB) is a Microsoft Access database containing study information and test data on the response of human volunteers and test dummies to impact accelerations. The BDB currently includes general information describing the objective, test matrix, results, and other pertinent information on eighty-six test programs that were conducted on AFRL in-house impact test facilities. These facilities include a vertical deceleration tower, vertical impact device, horizontal impulse accelerator, and horizontal decelerator. Test data collected from over 6,000 impact tests on these facilities are stored in the BDB. The data include acceleration, force, and displacement time histories and peak values, and test environment parameters. Slow-motion videos of the tests are currently being digitized into AVI files, and will soon be included in the BDB. Also included are anthropometry measurements from over 200 human volunteer test subjects.

To demonstrate the Articulated Total Body (ATB) model's capability to predict complex rollover accidents, a rollover accident was selected from the National Accident Sampling System (NASS) and simulated. This paper focuses on the simulation of the vehicle's dynamics which can in turn be used to specify the vehicle motion for occupant simulations. The selected accident case involved a pickup truck, crashing at high speed and completing three rolls. The pickup truck was modeled as a single rigid segment with fifteen contact hyperellipsoids rigidly attached to it. These hyperellipsoids were sized and positioned to approximate the exterior surfaces of the pickup truck. The force-deflection functions were defined based upon previous simulations of rollover tests. The initial conditions were defined to match the data in the NASS accident report as closely as possible.

Computer simulations of occupant dynamics are ideal for conducting parametric studies evaluating injury countermeasures. A rollover accident was selected from the National Accident Sampling System (NASS) for simulation to validate the Articulated Total Body (ATB) model's capability to predict occupant dynamics during rollover accidents and to gain insight into injury mechanisms. Simulations of both the driver and passenger occupants which may be used in future countermeasure studies are performed. In the selected accident, a pickup truck rolled multiple times, the belted driver had minor injuries and the unrestrained passenger was ejected with fatal injuries. The body properties for both occupants were obtained using the Generator of Body Data (GEBOD) program based on their weights, heights, and sexes. The interior configuration of the vehicle compartment was modeled based on measurements taken from another vehicle of the same model.