PFor decades, every time a woman sat behind the wheel or in the passenger seat, she did relying on protection systems thatparadoxically, they were not meant for her. And, despite the statistics on road accidents have highlighted for years a higher vulnerability for the female sexthe automotive industry continued to use a universal standard based solely on male anatomy. A real engineering gap that is finally finding a concrete solution. The arrival of new simulation technologies marks a turning point in the vision of crash tests for car safety. A more equitable vision for sure.
THOR-05F, the first dummy with female biomechanics for crash tests
The answer to this disparity is called THOR-05Fa new simulation tool and the first to reflect real female biomechanics in crash tests. Engineers at Humanetics, the company that developed the mannequin, worked on key structural details: a wider pelvis, a more flexible spine and a distribution of soft tissue masses which reflects the physiology of an adult woman.
With over 150 high-precision sensors, the mannequin is able to measure the forces exerted on internal organs, bones and joints, providing data that previous models could not even hypothesize.
Safety behind the wheel is not just for men
The bitter surprise of discovering that road safety has been partial for so long, opens a deeper reflection on how much the “masculine” has been, and to some extent still is, considered humanity’s default parameter.
This phenomenon, often referred to as the gender data gap, is certainly not unique to cars. Just think about medicine and drugs: For a long time, clinical research excluded women from outcome trials than many pharmacological dosages And even the symptoms of many disorders are based on the male bodyoften leading to late diagnoses or less effective therapies for patients.
THOR-05F, a new simulation tool that reflects real female biomechanics
With THOR-05F we enter the future
The introduction of the THOR-05F is therefore not just a technical achievement, but is almost an act of social justice. Thanks to the data collected, car manufacturers will finally be able to recalibrate how airbags work and the tension of the seat belts, adapting them to different physiques.
Genderless safety objective
The goal is ambitious: arrive at a certainty that is no longer a statistical question based on a single genrebut universal protection. It is clear that there is still a long way to go, but the arrival of a female mannequin in laboratories around the world can be considered a signal that, at least in this field, the industry has finally stopped ignoring half the world’s population.