A Dummy Gets into Kettering University.FLINT, Mich. -- The newest member of the Crash Test Safety research team at Kettering University The university boasts that the majority of its' seniors are employed or accepted to graduate schools before graduation and that one out of 15 alumni either own their own business or are high-level managers in leading companies (see Notable Alumni). in Flint is a dummy -- a crash test dummy
Crash test dummies are full-scale replicas of human beings, weighted and articulated to simulate the behavior of a human body, and instrumented to . While rather mute on most topics, he will speak volumes when all his instrumentation is installed and he begins testing. Dubbed "SpartaKUs" in a campus-wide naming contest, the 50th percentile male anthropomorphic Having the characteristics of a human being. For example, an anthropomorphic robot has a head, arms and legs. test device (ATD ATD Anthropomorphic Test Dummy ATD Attention to Detail ATD Advanced Technology Demonstration AtD Achieving the Dream ATD Atmospheric Technology Division (US National Center for Atmospheric Research) ATD Assistant Technical Director ), will bring a hands-on element to the current Crash Safety curriculum, as well as other courses under development. In addition to enhancing curriculum, the Crash Lab will be used for community education (i.e. K through 12 education, drivers training, Safe Kids Programs), summer university programs, consulting, product development, and research. "Fully instrumented, an ATD is worth approximately $130,000," said Dr. Janet Brelin-Fornari, associate professor of Mechanical Engineering and coordinator of the Crash Lab. SpartaKUs does not currently have instrumentation, but he will be built-out for testing in early 2005. SpartaKUs was donated to Kettering by Robert A. Denton, Inc. of Rochester Hills, Mich. "In addition to donating the dummy for in-house educational purposes, Robert A. Denton Inc. will give Kettering free lease of any other sized crash test dummy needed for research projects," said Brelin-Fornari. "The Crash Lab has three components, a deceleration deceleration /de·cel·er·a·tion/ (de-sel?er-a´shun) decrease in rate or speed. early deceleration sled, a component test area, and a dedicated computer based classroom," Brelin-Fornari said. The deceleration sled is a large piece of test equipment on which the interior of a vehicle is placed along with test dummies, vehicle safety systems (airbags, seat belts), instrumentation, and high-speed video. It is propelled down a track up to 42 mph and is decelerated using pneumatics pneu·mat·ics n. (used with a sing. verb) The study of the mechanical properties of air and other gases. pneumatics Noun to simulate the abrupt stop during a crash. The component test area studies impact on specific pieces, such as the dummy's head or legs, and the computer classroom allows students to review data from the test instrumentation and learn how to set up and perform virtual crash tests. "The lab is multi disciplined," explained Brelin-Fornari, "so faculty from Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Manufacturing Engineering and Business and Science and Mathematics including Physics and Chemistry will use the lab for research." Donors supporting the Crash Lab include: Takata, AAA AAA: see American Automobile Association. (Triple A) A common single-cell battery used in a myriad of electronic devices of all variety. Like its double A (AA) cousin, it provides 1.5 volts of DC power. When used in series, the voltage is multiplied. of Michigan, Robert A. Denton Incorporated, General Motors Corp., Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Biomet, Autoliv, Lear, TRW TRW The Real World (TV reality show) TRW The Right Way TRW Tactical Reconnaissance Wing TRW The Retriever Weekly (University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD) TRW Thompson Ramo Wooldridge Inc , and Via Systems. For more information on Kettering's dummy, visit: www.kettering.edu/news |
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