Burscheid, Germany - Johnson Controls has developed a new hip-point mannequin, which it says complies with international standards and plays an important role in measuring safety and comfort of automotive seating.
Johnson Controls said that since there are three different international standards that define the characteristics and dimensions of these mannequins, automakers use various models. The company said it has developed a mannequin that complies with all three standards.
The mannequin meets standards set by their Society of Automotive Engineers, the central specification for hip-point mannequins worldwide, and the GLORIA standard for EuroNCAP tests. Johnson Controls said it also satisfies recommendations of the German Association of the Automotive Industry.
Johnson Controls has been using the mannequin since June 2011, and following a year-and-a-half of in-house testing, it is now offering the product to automakers, other manufacturers of automotive seating and external testing organisations.
"The response to our mannequin has been extremely positive. Several automakers have already shown interest in it," commented Wilfried Beneker, vice president engineering, product business unit metals and mechanisms at Johnson Controls Automotive Seating.
The hip point is the seating reference point in digital design plans, Johnson Controls said. Measurements are defined from this point in the vehicle, including the distance to the steering wheel and gas pedal and the driver's field of vision. Using a hip-point mannequin, the position of the driver and passengers can be measured in prototypes and as well as in the actual vehicle and then compared with the design plans.
The mannequin, which has a carbon torso, can be fitted with a head restraint measurement device, which determines the position of the head in relation to the head restraints.
LMH
