Safety researchers at Volvo Car Corporation have developed a new crash-test dummy to test the company's newest active safety systems designed to prevent collisions with pedestrians.
The latest addition to the crash-test dummy family has been named Bob. Bob is of medium height and resembles the widest range of pedestrian-like subjects. However, his work differs from the rest of the dummies in the family: Bob never gets to sit in a vehicle during a collision. Instead, he's the one who risks being run over. Suspended from a crane that can propel him into the driver's field of vision - Bob may suddenly appear from behind a parked car or around a corner - he helps researchers simulate realistic and frequent traffic scenarios.
Bob's erratic behaviour is designed to pose a challenge to Volvo Cars' most recent active safety system, which features both radar and cameras to recognize pedestrians who suddenly dart into the vehicle's path and apply the brakes if the driver does not respond in time.
Reduce or avoid collisions with pedestrians
"We have a lot of faith in Bob when it comes to the development of our active safety systems, and it would have been even more exciting to be able to develop a dummy that could move by itself," says Anders Eugensson, Safety expert at Volvo Cars. "Bob is also available in a child dummy, Bob Junior, and will be followed by a female version, all to help our researchers develop systems for pedestrian collision avoidance."
Volvo Cars of Canada Corp. is part of the Volvo Car Corporation of Göteborg, Sweden. The company provides marketing, sales, parts, service, technology and training support to the 41 Volvo automobile retailers across the country. The company's product range includes the stylish and sporty C30, the elegant C70 hardtop convertible, the compact S40 sedan, the S80 flagship sedan and the versatile V50 and V70 wagons. For customers looking for a Volvo vehicle with all-road capability, the company offers the versatile XC60 crossover - equipped with City Safety as standard equipment - as well as the XC70 and XC90.
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