US Army developing crash test dummy to measure shock waves

Crash-test dummies play an integral role in building safe cars and trucks. But even though they're packed full of sensors to record impacts and crash forces, there are some conditions they can't record... like explosions.

That's why the US Army has commissioned a company called Diversified Technical Solutions to build a dummy that will measure forces from the kind of under-body blasts that soldiers are forced to endure when their vehicle is struck by an improvised explosive device.

"Because the current test dummies have been adopted from the automotive safety industry, they are designed to measure frontal or side impacts, but not those coming from under the vehicle or occupant in a blast event," DTS said in a statement.

But with the Warrior Injury Assessment Manikin, DTS is hoping to build a dummy that can record more and better data during an IED or other explosive attack. Beyond the dummies, the WIAMan, as it's abbreviated, will also look at injury assessment criteria.

Once the dummies are put into service, the DoD will use them in live-fire exercises to evaluate everything from seats and vehicle cabins, to the way tactical body armor functions.