Humanetics in the Media

NBC News’ Tom Costello is looking into the impact crash tests that substitute smaller male dummies to represent the females could have on female crash victims and survivors.

See a jet fuselage fall from the sky in a vertical drop test with 10 crash test dummies buckled up on board.

The latest crash test dummies are loaded with sensors and new tech and are a crucial piece of what keeps pushing automotive safety forward.

What these stand-ins for human drivers are made of, what they cost, and how they help make cars safer.

Since the 1980s, crash test dummies were all based on an average male body shape of the time. Now, Humanetics builds their most sophisticated dummies with advanced sensors built for male and female body types. They can top more than a million dollars.

Crash test dummies are meant to mimic human bodies in crashes, and show where cars need to be made safer. They are also huge investments - an absolutely stripped down legacy model will start at $100,000 and the latest crash test dummies run closer to $1,000,000.

Inventor Samuel Alderson studied under the father of the atomic bomb, Oppenheimer — and made roads safer all over the world

Advanced crash test dummies cost as much as $1million and are filled with technology that can potentially save people in the event of an accident. Today they’re used to test everything from airplanes to space shuttles and are even used by the military to test armed vehicles against IEDs.