Toyota's Total Human Model for Safety (THUMS) is a software capable of evaluating safety for men, women and children, thanks to its detailed representation of human bones, organs and muscles. In 2021 it became the world's first human body model with such a high level of capabilities that the company shared freely.
Now Toyota is providing a new release, version 7, with improved human models that have increased accuracy in the geometry and properties of some key body parts, such as the pelvis, abdominal organs, spine discs, cortical bones, vertebrae and ribs. A user can also sit the occupant in a reclined posture or reproduce how the human changes posture and braces muscles when manoeuvring the car in an emergency situation or when the car's safety systems, such as emergency braking or steering control, kick in. The THUMS' new capabilities further increase the precision of crash simulations, which is crucial in developing safety systems that can better protect vehicle occupants.
The capability to control sitting posture between standard and reclined was introduced as car manufacturers are working to bring ADAS systems closer to automated driving. In SAE Level 3, when all required conditions are met, the car does most of the driving tasks, and the driver can sit back unless asked to intervene. When the occupant is in a reclined posture, the body interacts differently with the seat and restraint systems. Even when the occupant is sitting up, a change of posture can lead to significantly different kinematics in the event of a crash, which can cause different types of injury.
"Special attention must be paid to ensure that the pelvis remains in the seat at the time of a crash. This is crucial to avoiding the 'submarine effect' - the occupant sliding out from under the lap belt – which can result in abdominal injuries. In addition, good pelvis retention helps to limit compression on the spine, and therefore, to prevent spinal injuries."
Sabine Compigne, Technical Manager, R&D Safety Research
The highly accurate THUMS human models come in male and female versions so that you can see any difference's how men and women get injured in a car crash.
"THUMS' new capabilities can be useful for safety simulation of trains and aircrafts as well as some non-automotive areas. Therefore, in order to share Toyota's know-how across society, the company make THUMS available free of charge since 2021." Tjark Kreuzinger, Senior Manager, R&D Safety Research
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