Forensic Engineering Design Construction And Use Of Economical Human Surrogates

Abstract

Anthropometric Dummies Have Been Used In Accident And Emergency Response Research For Over Five Decades. Such Mechanical Surrogates Have Been Valuable Tools To Help Scientists, Engineers And Others Understand Spatial Relationships And Dynamic Events Involving The Human Body In Situations Where It Is Too Dangerous Or Too Costly To Use Actual Human Subjects. Mechanical Human Surrogates Can Also Be Valuable Tools For The Forensic Engineer In Certain Situations, Whether The Task At Hand Is To Understand The Space Occupied By, The Inertial Response Of, The Deformation Compliance Of Or The Forces Or Positions Experienced By The Human Body During Dynamic Events. Rarely, However, Can The Forensic Engineers Assignment Financially Justify The Purchase Or Use Of Commercially Available Biofidelic Manikins, Assuming Such Manikins Of The Size And Weight Needed Even Exist In The First Place. The Purpose Of This Paper Is To Offer An Economical Design And Method Of Construction Using Common And Readily Available Materials For Mechanical Lumped-Mass Human Surrogates (Dummies) That Will Provide Space, Mass And Joint Movement That Approximately Represent That Of The Human Body.