Diversified Technical Systems (DTS) has been awarded a contract from the US Army to develop the first instrumented test dummy designed specifically for military vehicle blast testing. The new device will be used to assess potential skeletal injuries of soldiers exposed to under-body blast events like those from improvised explosive devices commonly found in combat zones. It will be equipped with internal miniature data recorders and sensors to capture the test results. This multi-phased project, called the Warrior Injury Assessment Manikin (WIAMan) will focus on defining injury-assessment criteria and blast research.
Current test dummies that have been adopted from the automotive safety industry are designed to measure frontal or side impacts, but not those coming from under the vehicle or occupant in a blast event. The WIAMan will be used in Department of Defense live fire test and evaluation for ground vehicles, including seats and interiors, as well as soldier body armor and tactical gear.
“We are honored by the fact that the US Army trusts DTS as lead on a project of this magnitude,” said DTS co-founder and company president Steve Pruitt. “WIAMan is an exciting project because it involves not only designing a brand new test dummy, but delivering a complete test instrument with sensors and the next generation data acquisition system.”
March 17, 2015
