Lear, First Technology Announce New Test Dummy Applications
8 March 2000
Lear, First Technology Announce New Advanced Test Dummy Applications LEAR CORPORATION OCATD5 SMALL ADULT FEMALE Lear Corporation and First Technology Safety Systems, Inc. (FTSS) OCATD5 Small Adult Female. (PRNewsFoto)[KC] DETROIT, MI USA 03/08/2000 LEAR CORPORATION - LIFEFORM(TM) OCCUPANT SIMULATOR Lear Corporation and First Technology Safety Systems, Inc. (FTSS) Ingress/Egress LifeForm(TM) Occupant Simulator. (PRNewsFoto)[KC] DETROIT, MI USA 03/08/2000
DETROIT, March 8 Lear Corporation and First
Technology Safety Systems, Inc. (FTSS) today announced that they have signed a
licensing agreement in which FTSS will license Lear's LifeForm(TM) Occupant
Simulator technology for advanced human surrogates for applications including
safety, comfort, auditory, durability and vibration testing of automotive
seats and interiors. Once the test devices are developed and validated, FTSS,
the world's largest creator of sophisticated crash test dummies and computer
crash test models, will commercialize and distribute the products worldwide.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000308/DEW016-a
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000308/DEW016-b )
Lear's LifeForm(TM) Occupant Simulator was jointly developed by Lear
Corporation and FTSS in 1998 and 1999 under Lear's Bio-Fidelic Testing
Initiative to create a more life-like device for seat durability tests.
"These unique developments are a direct result of applying our People-
Vehicle-Interface(TM) Method to address the need for seat system testing that
more accurately represents the actual consumer use, allowing us to design and
engineer products with improved value and performance balance," said Ash
Galbreath, Lear Vice President - Advanced Engineering and Validation.
Lear's PVI Method(TM) combines consumer research, design, engineering,
analysis, manufacturing, process development and validation into a cohesive
product development process.
"First Technology has and will continue to be a key strategic partner for
Lear's development of innovative performance measurement systems for our
electronic, safety, acoustic, and interior products. We are very proud that
this Pro-tec Occupant Protection Systems technology was selected to help
address the need for Occupant Classification," states Mr. Galbreath.
Occupant Classification Anthropomorphic Test Device (OCATD)(TM)
First Technology Safety Systems, Inc. was contracted by the Alliance of
Automobile Manufacturers (AAM) to design and manufacture Occupant
Classification Anthropomorphic Test Devices (OCATDs) representative of a small
adult female and a six-year-old child. OCATD is based on Lear's LifeForm(TM)
Occupant Simulator.
The OCATD products are intended for the development and validation of
seat-based weight pattern sensors used in advanced airbag systems. OCATD
produces a human-like weight distribution on the seating surface.
"Occupant Classification (OC) is a developing science driven by the need
to suppress or modify the deployment of an airbag depending on the size of the
seat occupant. Essentially, the airbag systems have to distinguish between an
adult and a child," says Steve Moss, Technical Director of FTSS. "The
challenge for us is to develop human surrogates that accurately characterize
the human features used by these OC sensors. We have contracted with the
University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute to develop
anthropometry databases based on weight patterns and skeletal and body
surfaces." Future products include a ten-year-old and a mid-size male.
"This project would not be possible without the support and engineering
effort from the Alliance of Automotive Manufacturers," says Tom Gutwald,
President of FTSS.
See the OCATD device at the FTSS booth at the Society of Automotive
Engineers (SAE) 2000 World Congress and Exhibition.
Ingress/Egress LifeForm(TM) Occupant Simulator
This patented test device represents a 50th percentile adult male and is
reported in SAE Paper 1-1-627. The LifeForm(TM) Occupant Simulator is a soft,
deformable flesh material molded over a human-like skeleton. Designed for
automotive seating durability studies, the success of this device prompted the
expansion of the technology into the safety and vibration areas.
Vibro-Acoustic Test Dummy
This patent pending device combines an accurate human body vibration
response with a high fidelity stereo sound-measuring head, allowing
simultaneous, high precision vehicle noise and vibration measurements.
Lear Corporation
Lear Corporation, a Fortune 200 company headquartered in Southfield,
Michigan, USA, is one of the world's largest automotive suppliers, with 1999
sales of $12.4 billion. The company's world-class products are designed,
engineered and manufactured by approximately 120,000 employees in more than
300 facilities located in 33 countries. Information about Lear and its
products is available on the Internet at http://www.lear.com .
First Technology Innovative Solutions
First Technology is an International Group serving the global
transportation industry in the supply chain of products and services in the
fields of sensing, safety and comfort. First Technology Safety Systems
(FTSS), founded in 1988, is the world's largest creator of sophisticated crash
test dummies and computer crash simulation models and supporting services.
FTSS is a division of First Technology, PLC. Information about First
Technology is available at http://www.firsttech.co.uk . First Technology Safety
Systems can be found at http://www.ftss.com .