Virtual Crash Testing Tools That Make Automated Vehicle Interiors Safer

When self-driving cars let passengers recline, swivel, or face each other, traditional crash dummies and test procedures don't cut it anymore. OSCCAR built realistic digital human body models that can simulate how real people — young, old, different body types — get injured in crashes from any direction. Think of it as replacing expensive physical crash tests with highly accurate computer simulations that work for seating positions that don't even exist yet. The project also created a roadmap for regulators to accept these virtual tests instead of requiring every scenario to be physically crashed.

What needed solving

Automated vehicles introduce seating positions — reclined, rotated, facing backward — that current crash test dummies and physical test procedures were never designed for. Running physical crash tests for every possible seat configuration is prohibitively expensive, and regulators have no accepted virtual testing methods yet. Companies developing automated vehicle interiors are stuck between innovation and safety compliance.

What was built

OSCCAR delivered three key demonstrators: a homologation scenario demonstration using advanced harmonized human body models, a demonstrator for continuous integrated virtual assessment of complex crash simulations, and the openPASS software tool customized for integrated safety assessment of future accident scenarios. In total, 20 deliverables were produced.

Who needs this

Who can put this to work

Quick answers

Who built it

This is a heavyweight consortium with 26 partners across 8 countries, and a striking 65% industry ratio (17 industry partners out of 26). That signals this was not an academic exercise — the tools were built with direct input from the companies that would use them. The coordinator, Virtual Vehicle Research GmbH from Austria, is classified as an SME and a research organization, giving it the agility to commercialize results. The geographic spread across AT, BE, CN, DE, ES, FR, NL, and SE covers all major European automotive markets plus China, which strengthens the case for global applicability. With EUR 6,989,395 in EU funding and 7 universities backing the science, the technical credibility is solid.

• VIRTUAL VEHICLE RESEARCH GMBHCoordinator · AT
• AUTOLIV DEVELOPMENT ABparticipant · SE
• LUDWIG-MAXIMILIANS-UNIVERSITAET MUENCHENparticipant · DE
• TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET GRAZparticipant · AT
• ROBERT BOSCH GMBHparticipant · DE
• VOLVO PERSONVAGNAR ABparticipant · SE
• TOYOTA MOTOR EUROPE NVparticipant · BE
• MERCEDES-BENZ AGparticipant · DE
• RHEINISCH-WESTFAELISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE AACHENparticipant · DE
• KEYSIGHT TECHNOLOGIES FRANCE S.A.S.participant · FR
• ESI GERMANY GMBHthirdparty · DE
• TSINGHUA UNIVERSITYparticipant · CN
• IDIADA Fahrzeugtechnik GmbHthirdparty · DE
• UNIVERSITE DE STRASBOURGparticipant · FR
• AUTOLIV SVERIGE ABthirdparty · SE
• IDIADA AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGY SAparticipant · ES
• SIEMENS INDUSTRY SOFTWARE NVparticipant · BE
• SIEMENS INDUSTRY SOFTWARE NETHERLANDS BVparticipant · NL
• UNIVERSITY OF STUTTGARTparticipant · DE
• FKA GMBHthirdparty · DE
• VOLKSWAGEN AKTIENGESELLSCHAFTparticipant · DE
• BUNDESANSTALT FUER STRASSEN-UND VERKEHRSWESENparticipant · DE
• CHALMERS TEKNISKA HOGSKOLA ABparticipant · SE