Tokyo, Japan, Apr 24, 2008 - (JCN Newswire) - The FIA Institute and Toyota Motor Corporation
(TMC) have combined technology and expertise to help improve safety in high-speed racecar
accidents.
TMC has developed a computer simulation which recreates high speed accidents and their effects
on human physiology. Using the new system called Total Human Model Safety (THUMS), the FIA
Institute and TMC have been able to study the kind of serious injuries that are difficult to
measure with conventional crash-test dummies. The results of the new study are in the process
of completion.
The FIA Institute targeted this technology specifically to help study high speed rear impact
crashes in the FIA Formula One World Championship and Indy Racing League (IRL). The THUMS
technology has proved a very effective system in analyzing the complex interaction between the
driver's body and the car in a high speed accident.
The FIA Institute and Dr Terry Trammell, a fellow of the FIA Institute and consultant to IRL,
have provided TMC with data on such accidents and information on racecar seat structures. TMC
has been using the data and information to carry out virtual collisions using THUMS and to
simulated racecar seat designs, which have succeeded in replicating spinal injuries from
high-speed rear impact collisions.
This cooperative effort has led to a determination of the mechanism for spinal-stress buildup
- the result of a combination of g-forces and the unique seating position used in F1 and IRL
racecars. The research has prompted considerations for measures to reduce stress on the spine
during rear impact collisions.
The FIA Institute expects this effort to lead to improved safety for F1, IRL and other
single-seater racecar championships.
About the FIA Institute
The FIA Institute was established in October 2004 by the FIA and the FIA Foundation. It
receives an annual grant from the FIA Foundation to fund research projects and other safety-led
activities. The aims of the FIA Institute are to encourage the rapid development of new and
improved safety technologies, to facilitate ever higher standards of education and training and
to campaign to raise awareness of safety issues amongst all of those involved in motor
sport.
About Toyota Motor Corporation
Established in 1937, Toyota Motor Corporation (TSE: 7203; NYSE: TM), which celebrates its 70th
anniversary this year, has developed into one of the world's best known automobile
manufacturers. The Toyota Group sold over 8.5 million vehicles under the Toyota, Lexus,
Daihatsu, and Hino brands in more than 170 countries and regions in fiscal 2007. Further, the
Company's production is firmly rooted in local communities, with 52 companies manufacturing
vehicles and parts in 26 countries and regions. Toyota had approximately 300,000 employees on a
consolidated basis at the end of fiscal 2007. The company is headquartered in Aichi, Japan. For
more information, please visit www.toyota.co.jp/en/index.html .
Source: Toyota Motor Corporation
Contact:Toyota Motor Corporation
Corporate Communications Department/
Public Affairs Division
Tel: +81-3-3817-9150
URL: http://www.toyota.co.jp/en
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