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The descent phase of GAGANYAAN (Indian Manned Space Mission) culminates with a crew module impacting at a predetermined site in Indian waters. During water impact, huge amount of loads are experienced by the astronauts. This demands an impact attenuation system which can attenuate the impact loads and reduce the acceleration experienced by astronauts to safe levels. Current state of the art impact attenuation systems use honeycomb core, which is passive, expendable, can only be used once (at touchdown impact) during the entire mission and does not account off-nominal impact loads. Active and reusable attenuation systems for crew module is still an unexplored territory. Three configurations of impact attenuators were selected for this study for the current GAGANYAAN crew module configuration, namely, hydraulic damper, hydro-pneumatic damper and airbag systems.

The Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) is a comprehensive feature set designed to aid a driver in avoiding or reducing the severity of collisions while operating the vehicle within specified conditions. In General Motors (GM) vehicles, the primary controller for the ADAS is the Active Safety Control Module (ASCM). In the 2013 model year, GM introduced an ASCM utilizing the GM internal nomenclature of External Object Calculation Module (EOCM) in some of their vehicles produced for the North American market. Similar to the Sensing and Diagnostic Module (SDM) utilized in the restraints system, the EOCM3 LC contains an Event Data Recorder (EDR) function to capture and record information surrounding certain ADAS or Supplemental Inflatable Restraint (SIR) events. The ASCM EDR contains information from external object sensors, various chassis and powertrain control modules, and internally calculated data.

The on-board emergency call system with accurate occupant injury prediction can help rescuers deliver more targeted traffic accident rescue and save more lives. We use machine learning methods to establish, train, and validate a number of classification models that can predict occupant injuries (by determining whether the MAIS (Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale) level is greater than 2) based on crash data, and ranked the correlation of some factors affecting vehicle occupant injury levels in accidents. The optimal model was selected by the model prediction accuracy, and the Grid Search method was used to optimize the hyper-parameters for the model.

The handling of flexible components creates a unique problem set for pick and place automation within automotive production processes. Fabrics and woven textiles are examples of flexible components used in car interiors, for air bags, as liners and in carbon-fiber layups. These textiles differ greatly in geometry, featuring complex shapes and internal slits with varying material properties such as drape characteristics, crimp resistance, friction, and fiber weave. Being inherently flexible and deformable makes these materials difficult to handle with traditional rigid grippers. Current solutions employ adhesive, needle-based, and suction strategies, yet these systems prove a higher risk of leaving residue on the material, damaging the weave, or requiring complex assemblies. Pincer-style grippers are suitable for rigid components and offer strong gripping forces, yet inadvertently may damage the fabric, and introduce wrinkles / folded-over edges during the release process.

In this study, an optimized structure for opening the headlining considering the deployment of the face-to-face roof airbag was studied. It was confirmed that the deployment performance differs depending on the skin of the headlining, and a standardized structure with mass production was proposed. Non-woven fabric and Tricot skin, which are economical and high-end specifications, satisfy the performance of PVC fusion application specifications after cutting 80% of the skin. The structure that satisfies the entire body including the knit specifications is a type that separates the roof airbag area piece, the corresponding soft piece is separated, and the deployment performance is satisfied with safety. Therefore, the structure is proposed as a standardized structure. This structure is expected to be applicable to roof DAB (Driver Airbag), PAB (Passenger Airbag), and Sunroof Airbag, which will be necessary technologies to secure indoor space.

Determining occupant kinematics in a vehicle crash is essential when understanding injury mechanisms and assessing restraint performance. Identifying contact marks is key to the process. This study was conducted to assess the ability to photodocument the various fluids on different vehicle interior component types and colors with and without the use of ultraviolet (UV) lights. Biological (blood, saliva, sweat and skin), consumable and chemical fluids were applied to vehicle interior components, such as seatbelt webbing, seat and airbag fabrics, roof liner and leather steering wheel. The samples were photodocumented with natural light and UV light (365 nm) exposure immediately after surface application and again 14 days later. The review of the photos indicated that fabric type and color were important factors. The fluids deposits were better visualized on non-porous than porous materials. For example, blood was better documented on curtain airbags than side or driver airbags.

Alongside advancements in automated vehicle technologies, occupants within vehicle compartments are enjoying increased freedom to relax and enjoy their journeys. For instance, reclined seating postures have become more prevalent and comfortable compared to upright seating when Highly Automated Vehicles (HAVs) are introduced. Unfortunately, most Anthropomorphic Testing Devices (ATD) do not support reclined postures. THOR-AV 50M is a specially designed dummy for reclined postures. As a crucial tool for developing safety restraint systems to protect reclined occupants, the first question is how to position it correctly on a reclined seat before impact testing. In this study, classical zero gravity seats were selected. H-point coordinators of selected seat at 25°, 40° and 60° seatback angle were measured and compared by using H-point machine (HPM) even though current HPM was not designed for reclined seat.

The head injury mechanisms of occupants in traffic accidents will be more complicated due to the diversified seating postures in autonomous driving environments. The injury risks and assessment parameters in complex collision conditions need to be investigated thoroughly. Mining the simulation data by the support vector machine (SVM) and the random forest algorithms, some head injury predictive models for a 6-year-old child occupant under a frontal 100% overlap rigid barrier crash scenario were developed. In these head injury predictive models, the impact speed and sitting posture of the occupant were considered as the input variables. All of these head injury predictive models were validated to have good regression and reliability (R2>0.93) by the ten-fold cross-validation. When the collision speed is less than 60km/h, rotational load is the primary factor leading to head injury, and the trends of BrIC, von Mise stress, Maxshear stress, and MPS are similar.

Occupant protection in side impacts, in particular for near-side occupants, is a challenge due to the occupant’s close proximity to the impact. Near-side occupants have limited space to ride down the impact. Curtain and side airbags fill the gap between occupant and the side interior. This analysis was conducted to provide insight on the characteristics of side impacts and the relevancy of currently regulated test configurations. For this purpose, 2007-2015 NASS-CDS and 2017-2021 CISS side crash data were analyzed for towed light vehicles. 2008 and newer model year vehicle data was selected to ensure that most vehicles were equipped with side/curtain airbags. The results showed that side impacts accounted for approximately 26.7% of the vehicles involved and 18.9% of the vehicles with at least one seriously injured occupant. Most side impacts involved damage to the front and front-to-center of the vehicle.

Load legs on child restraint systems (CRS) protect pediatric occupants by bracing the CRS against the floor of the vehicle. Load legs reduce forward motion and help manage the energy of the CRS during a crash. As more CRS manufacturers in the United States (US) consider incorporating these safety features into their products, benchmark data are needed to guide their design and usage. The objective of this study is to develop benchmark geometrical data from both CRS and vehicle environments to help manufacturers to incorporate compatible load legs into the US market. A sample of vehicle environments (n=104 seating positions from n=51 vehicles, model years 2015 to 2022) and CRS with load legs (n=10) were surveyed. Relevant measurements were taken from each sample set to compile benchmark datasets. Corresponding dimensions were compared to assess where incompatibilities might occur.

In 2021, 412,432 road accidents were reported in India, resulting in 153,972 deaths and 384,448 injuries. India has the highest number of road fatalities, accounting for 11% of the global road fatalities. Therefore, it is important to explore the underlying causes of accidents on Indian roads. The objective of this study is to identify the factors inherent in accidents in India using clustering analysis based on self-organizing maps (SOM). It also attempts to recommend some countermeasures based on the identified factors. The study used Indian accident data collected by members of ICAT-ADAC (International Centre for Automotive Technology - Accident Data Analysis Centre) under the ICAT-RNTBCI joint project approved by the Ministry of Heavy Industries, Government of India. 210 cases were collected from the National Highway between Jaipur and Gurgaon and 239 cases from urban and semi-urban roads around Chennai were used for the analysis.

In 1983, a seat belt use rate survey was published in which 9% shoulder belt use was observed for front-outboard passengers. Nearly forty years later the national estimate of seat belt use has achieved a record high of 91.6% belt use by adult front-seat passengers in 2022. In contrast, there have been very few studies conducted in order to determine seat belt use within large buses and motorcoaches. In 2013, the NHTSA published a final rule amending FMVSS 208 to require seat belts for each seating position in all new over-the-road buses. Beginning in 2016, newly manufactured buses were required to be equipped with lap and shoulder belts for each driver and passenger seat. Recent studies have reported that seat belt use on motorcoaches with relatively long routes was only 2.6%. Similarly, seat belt use in airport shuttle buses was reported to be only 1%. The present observational study was conducted to determine an updated seat belt usage rate of passengers on airport shuttle buses.

There are established federal requirements and industry standards for frontal crash testing of motor vehicles. Consistently applied methods support reliability, repeatability, and comparability of performance metrics between tests and platforms. However, real world collisions are rarely identical to standard test protocols. This study examined the effects of occupant anthropometry and passive restraint deployment timing on occupant kinematics and biomechanical loading in a moderate-severity (approximately 30 kph delta-V) offset frontal crash scenario. An offset, front-to-rear vehicle-to-vehicle crash test was performed, and the dynamics of the vehicle experiencing the frontal collision were replicated in a series of three sled tests. Crash test and sled test vehicle kinematics were comparable. A standard or reduced-weight 50th percentile male Hybrid III ATD (H3-50M) or a standard 5th percentile female Hybrid III ATD (H3-5F) was belted in the driver’s seating position.

Background: The Indian automobile industry, including the auto component industry, is a significant part of the country’s economy and has experienced growth over the years. India is now the world’s 3rd largest passenger car market and the world’s second-largest two-wheeler market. Along with the boon, the bane of road accident fatalities is also a reality that needs urgent attention, as per a study titled ‘Estimation of Socio-Economic Loss due to Road Traffic Accidents in India’, the socio-economic loss due to road accidents is estimated to be around 0.55% to 1.35% of India’s GDP [27] Ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) accident data shows that the total number of fatalities on the road are the highest (in number terms) in the world. Though passenger car occupant fatalities have decreased over the years, the fatalities of vulnerable road users are showing an increasing trend. India has committed to reduce road fatalities by 50% by 2030.

A total of 93 tests were conducted in daytime conditions to evaluate the effect on the Time to Collision (TTC), emergency braking, and avoidance rates of the Forward Collision Warning (FCW) and Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) provided by a 2022 Tesla Model 3 against a 4ActivePA adult static pedestrian target. Variables that were evaluated included the vehicle speed on approach, pedestrian offsets, pedestrian clothing, and user-selected FCW settings. As a part of the Tesla’s Collision Avoidance AssistTM, these user-selected FCW settings change the timing of the issuance of the visual and/or audible warning provided. This testing evaluated the Tesla at speeds of 25 and 35 miles per hour (mph) versus a stationary pedestrian target in early, medium, and late FCW settings. Testing was also conducted with a 50% pedestrian offset and 75% offset conditions relative to the right side of the Tesla.

Abstract Compared to other age groups, older adults are at more significant risk of hip fracture when they fall. In addition to the higher risk of falls for the elderly, fear of falls can reduce this population’s outdoor activity. Various preventive solutions have been proposed to reduce the risk of hip fractures ranging from wearable hip protectors to indoor flooring systems. A previously developed rubberized asphalt mixture demonstrated the potential to reduce the risk of head injury. In the current study, the capability of the rubberized asphalt sample was evaluated for the risk of hip fracture for an average elderly male and an average elderly female. A previously developed human body model was positioned in a fall configuration that would give the highest impact forces toward regular asphalt.

Predicting airbag deployment geometries is an important task for airbag and vehicle designers to meet safety standards based on biomechanical injury risk functions. This prediction is also an extraordinarily complex problem given the number of disciplines and their interactions. State-of-the-art airbag deployment geometry simulations (including time history) entail large, computationally expensive numerical methods such as finite element analysis (FEA) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD), among others. This complexity results in exceptionally large simulation times, making thorough exploration of the design space prohibitive.

To harmonize and define terminology associated with occupant protection for children for vehicle manufacturers and child restraint manufacturers in the United States and Canada.