Development of Seatbelt Fit Assessment Components for the ASPECT Manikin

As part of the Automotive Seat and Package Evaluation and Comparison Tools (ASPECT) program, the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) researchers developed a new H-point manikin that is intended to replace the current SAE J826 manikin. The original manikin is used in many automotive applications, including as a platform for a seatbelt deployment test device (BTD). In the current project, components and procedures were developed to measure belt fit using ASPECT manikin. Contoured lap and torso forms were constructed using anthropometric data from an earlier UMTRI study. Prototype forms were mounted on the ASPECT manikin for testing in a laboratory fixture and in vehicles. The testing demonstrated that the ASPECT BTD produces consistent measures of belt fit that vary in expected ways with belt geometry. Further research will be necessary to refine the installation procedures and to establish the relationships between ASPECT BTD measures and the distributions of occupant belt fit.