Development and Whole-Body Validation of Personalizable Female and Male Pedestrian SAFER Human Body Models

TL;DR

This paper presents the development and validation of personalized biofidelic male and female pedestrian human body models using an image registration-based mesh morphing framework, validated through cadaver experiments and collision simulations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel mesh morphing framework for personalizing pedestrian HBMs and validates their accuracy in reproducing collision dynamics.

Findings

Personalized HBMs accurately reproduce cadaver impact trajectories.

The models effectively simulate head kinematics in lateral impacts.

The framework enhances pedestrian safety assessment capabilities.

Abstract

Vulnerable road users are overrepresented in the worldwide number of road-traffic injury victims. Developing biofidelic male and female pedestrian HBMs representing a range of anthropometries is imperative to follow through with the efforts to increase road safety and propose intervention strategies. In this study, a 50th percentile male and female pedestrian of the SAFER HBM was developed via a newly developed image registration-based mesh morphing framework for subject personalization. The HBM and its accompanied personalization framework were evaluated by means of a set of cadaver experiments, where subjects were struck laterally by a generic sedan buck. In the simulated whole-body pedestrian collisions, the personalized HBMs demonstrate a good capability of reproducing the trajectories and head kinematics observed in lateral impacts. The presented pedestrian HBMs and personalization framework provide robust means to thoroughly and accurately reconstruct and evaluate pedestrian-to-vehicle collisions.