The Hybrid III 50th Percentile Male Crash Test Dummy is the most widely used crash test dummy in the world for the evaluation of automotive safety restraint systems in frontal crash testing. Originally developed by General Motors, the Hybrid III 50th design is now maintained and developed by Humanetics in conjunction with the Society of Automotive Engineers’ (SAE) Biomechanics Committees and the National Highway Transport and Safety Administration (NHTSA). The dummy is a regulated test device in the USA Code of Federal Regulations (Part 572, Subpart E) and also in the European ECE Regulations.

The Hybrid III dummy is considered to have excellent biofidelity and instrumentation capability. Recent revisions have improved the biofidelity in the femur range of motion and the ankle and foot. The dummy can also be used in many non-automotive applications such as wheelchairs and medicaland sport equipment.

Dummy Features

Head and Neck
The skull and skull cap are one piece cast aluminum parts with removable vinyl skins. The neck is a segmented rubber and aluminum construction with a center cable. It accurately simulates the human dynamic moment/rotation flexion and extension response.

Upper Torso
The rib cage is represented by six high strength steel ribs with polymer based damping material to simulate human chest force-deflection characteristics. Each rib unit comprises left and right anatomical ribs in one continuous part open at the sternum and anchored to the back of the thoracic spine.
A sternum assembly connects to the front of the ribs and includes a slider for the chest deflection rotary potentiometer. The angle between the neck and upper torso is determined by the construction of the neck bracket which can incorporate a six-axis neck transducer. A two-piece aluminum clavicle and clavicle link assemblies have cast integral scapulae to interface with shoulder belts.

Lower Torso
A curved cylindrical rubber lumbar spine mounts provides human-like slouch of a seated person and mounts to the pelvis through an optional three axis lumbar load cell. The pelvis is a vinyl skin/urethane foam molded over an aluminum casting in the seated position. The ball-jointed femur attachments carry bump stops to reproduce the human leg to hip moment/rotation characteristics. The femur, tibia and ankle can be instrumented to predict bone fracture and the knee can evaluate tibia to femur ligament injury. The foot and ankle simulates heel compression and ankle range of motion.